Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday questioned what she claimed was the Senate’s double standard in the treatment of Special Envoy on Transnational Crimes Markus Lacanilao, who was cited in contempt but ordered detained only after more than a week.

The elder sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. contrasted the delay in the arrest of Lacanilao with that of former President Rodrigo Duterte which was swift.

“Ambassador Lacanilao was cited by the committee in direct contempt. He should have been detained immediately since the rules do not mention a need for a show-cause order,” she said.

“However, instead of immediate detention, Lacanilao was given 11 days before he was eventually detained. In contrast, it took the administration only several hours to arrest and whisk Duterte out of the country,” she said.

Lacanilao was placed under the custody of the Senate on Monday, 21 April, after Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero ordered his arrest.

To recall, Lacanilao was cited in contempt by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for allegedly lying during a panel hearing on 10 April where he was grilled over his participation in the arrest of Duterte.

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, an ally of the former president, made the motion to cite Lacanilao in contempt. The motion was approved by Senator Marcos, who presided over the hearing into Duterte’s arrest.

The contempt order did not materialize after the hearing, however, which is the usual practice in the upper chamber. Instead, Lacanilao was released the same night.

Escudero had said then the diplomat was not given due process. He said he ordered Lacanilao’s release “out of a humanitarian consideration, as his grandfather is to be laid to rest today.”