Bersamin confirms letter declining Senate inquiry invite

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin confirmed on Tuesday that the Office of the President sent a letter to the Senate of the Philippines declining the invitation of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for government officials to appear before the panel.

The Committee is set to conduct a second hearing investigating the arrest and later transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague. Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his administration's war on drugs which claimed thousands of lives.

The letter, dated 31 March 2025 and signed by Bersamin, stated that invited government officials have “sincerely answered all the questions to the best of their knowledge” and “candidly” provided all information elicited by committee members on its first hearing on 20 March.

The Executive Secretary cited there is no more reason for further participation of government officials to the Senate inquiry given that the Senate Committee have shared “comprehensive findings”.

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is chaired by Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

While Bersamin confirmed that the letter was sent to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Senator Marcos, he said that a “revised” version will be sent on Wednesday, 2 April.

“Yes, but we will file a revised one early tomorrow morning,” he said in a message.

When asked if the revised letter will be significantly different, he replied "Not necessarily".

Earlier, Malacañang Palace said that it will not interfere with the Senate’s inquiry on Duterte’s arrest. However, Bersamin informed the Senate that the Executive Branch would invoke Executive Privileges if matters concerning privileged conversations and classified correspondence would surface during the Committee hearing.

In a press briefing on Monday, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said that there are no special instructions coming from the President preventing cabinet members from appearing before the Senate in the event they are invited to attend a hearing as long as it does not violate executive privilege.

“As we said the other day, the President will not stop cabinet members or secretaries if they are summoned and the questions that are asked of them should be answered, provided that they do not violate executive privilege,” she said.