CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A pro-Duterte group will join the observance of the Holy Week to pray and seek divine intervention for the release and return of former President Rodrigo Duterte who is now detained in the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face trial for alleged crime against humanity committed during his presidency.

Benito Ranque, convenor of the Return FPRRD movement in a phone interview on Tuesday from his base in Gingoog City told the DAILY TRIBUNE that the group has agreed to wear black and join the observance of the Holy Week in their respective localities.

“We will continue holding candlelight ceremonies and prayer rallies to seek divine intervention for the release of ‘Tatay Digong,’” he said, his voice firm with resolve and faith.

He said their group will also wear black to show their support of the endorsement of the Vice President to the Senatorial bid of Imee Marcos in the coming midterm elections.

Raque also refuted the claim made by Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro that Senator Imee’s so-called “Itim” narrative referred to former President Rodrigo Duterte, saying that current events in the country speak volumes about the true state of affairs.

“The friendship of Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Imee Marcos which dates back to 2016 is beyond politics,” he said.

That friendship he said molded the then Alyansa Duterte and Bongbong (ALDUB) in 2016 and the now defunct Marcos Sara Duterte Alliance (Masada) that united the so-called Solid North and Solid South in the 2022 presidential election.

He recalled that Senator Imee Marcos served as the crucial “bridge” between the Marcos and Duterte families, playing a key role in then-Mayor Sara Duterte’s decision to withdraw from the Davao City mayoralty race and run instead as vice presidential candidate alongside his brother, President Bongbong Marcos.

He said no less than VP Sara admitted during an interview in The Hague, the Netherlands that her friendship with Sen. Imee is beyond politics when asked about the ongoing Senate hearing investigation on the arrest and turnover of her father to the ICC to face trial against alleged crime against humanity of murder.

Ranque said his group launched the Mayor Sara Duterte Alliance in 2021 to urge her to run as president in the presidential election because of the high rating in the political surveys at that time.

“With the intercession of Senator Imee, Inday Sara decided to run as vice president alongside former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, who assured her during a meeting in Cebu City in November 2021 that the Marcos-Duterte alliance would continue to build on the economic gains achieved during the presidency of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte,” he said.

He said Sara had already filed her candidacy for reelection as Davao City mayor when she was convinced that the Marcos-Duterte alliance could unify the country — marking the birth of the so-called Uniteam and the Marcos Alliance.

Masada was later rebranded as the Marcos-Sara Duterte Alliance after Sara Duterte officially agreed to become Bongbong Marcos’ running mate.

The defunct MASADA has now regrouped — this time to urge Sara Duterte to run for president in the 2028 elections.