'Hindi na kami nag-uusap': Imee admits strained ties with PBBM

Senator Imee Marcos on Saturday admitted having cold ties with her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., and that they have not spoken for quite some time.

"Hindi na kami nag-uusap, matagal na,” Marcos said in a news forum.

(We haven't been talking, it's been a long time.)

The senator mentioned that she and her brother only have the opportunity to talk at public events.

“Maraming nakapaligid sa kanya na humaharang sa aming mag-usap,” she noted.

(There are many people around him who are preventing us from talking to each other.)

Despite their strained relationship, Marcos clarified she harbors no ill feelings about President Marcos skipping her name while introducing senatorial candidates of the administration-backed Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate during a campaign sortie in Cavite on Friday.

During the sortie, the President named all the candidates on the administration’s senatorial slate, including Camille Villar, who, like Sen. Marcos, was also absent from the event.

“Ayos lang sa akin. Wala namang problema doon. Okay lang dahil nakatutok ako sa pagsisiyasat ng pagkuha kay FPRRD sa Pilipinas patungong the Hague,” she said.

(It’s fine with me. There's no problem with that. It's okay because I am focused on the investigation regarding FPRRD's departure from the Philippines to The Hague.)

“Unahin natin ang pagtanggol sa ating soberanya, kaysa sa pulitika't kampanya,” she added.

(Let’s prioritize defending our sovereignty over politics and campaigns.)

Imee's inquest

On 20 March, Senator Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, ordered a motu proprio inquiry into the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.

In her opening statement, the senator said she called for an urgent investigation into the ICC arrest of Duterte as the issue “has deeply divided the nation.”

“It is imperative to establish whether due process was followed,” she stressed.

The former president was arrested upon his arrival from Hong Kong and was transported to The Hague, Netherlands on the same day.

During the hearing, Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) Executive Director Anthony Alcantara admitted the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has not issued a red notice but only a red diffusion notice for Duterte.

Marcos pointed out that an Interpol diffusion is different from a red notice.

“It’s an unverified report requesting for information, humihingi lang, makikipaki lang sa kapwa member na kung maaring tulungan ninyo kami pero hindi siya verified, hindi siya dumadaan sa kanilang commissioner, hindi siya pinopost sa website katulad ng red notice,” she added.

(This is an unverified report requesting information, simply asking, just requesting help from fellow members if they can assist us, but it is not verified, it does not go through their commissioner, and it is not posted on their website like a red notice.)

However, Alcantara said the diffusion “went through the organization’s police database.”

He then explained that there are different types of diffusion, and what Marcos was referring to was a "blue diffusion," which is simply "seeking information.”

“Hindi information ang hinihingi po. It is a wanted person notice. Diffusion. Wanted person po ang nandoon,” Alcantara said.

(It is not the information being requested. It is a wanted person notice. Diffusion. A wanted person is what is listed there.)