Imee pushes ‘Duterte Bill’ vs extraordinary rendition

Senator Imee Marcos, currently in The Hague with Vice President Sara Duterte, announced she has filed a new bill named after former President Rodrigo Duterte that seeks to criminalize extraordinary rendition, the forced transfer of individuals without due process, as part of her continued push to assert Philippine sovereignty amid the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation.

“We’ve started lining up several legislative proposals, and apart from those, I have a new bill — the President Rodrigo Roa Duterte bill,” Marcos told reporters in an interview Wednesday.

“This penalizes and criminalizes extraordinary rendition. What happened to President [Duterte] should never happen again,” she said.

Marcos maintained that the ICC’s actions violated Philippine law. “What happened is against our laws, and there must be accountability,” she added.

The senator also pressed the Office of the Ombudsman to act on a pending case related to Duterte, expressing concern over the looming end of the current Ombudsman’s term.

“There’s an Ombudsman case that’s just been sitting there. I’m hoping it gets resolved because the Ombudsman is about to change. I’m worried it might never be heard,” she said.

“Nonetheless, let’s pursue the case and make sure those responsible are held accountable,” she added.

Vice President Sara Duterte, who accompanied Marcos to the ICC headquarters, said her father had requested through his legal team that Senator Marcos be allowed entry into the ICC’s premises.

“He made a request through his lawyer for Senator Imee Marcos to enter the ICC,” Sara said.

The Vice President shared a personal message from her father about Marcos: “I believe she is sincere in her friendship with you. She could have chosen not to be your friend.”

The younger Duterte made no comment on the nature of the senator’s involvement with the Dutertes but affirmed their united front.

Meanwhile, asked if she would support a resolution seeking house arrest for former president Duterte, Marcos replied: “Of course, I stand with them... but I also know the ICC won’t pay attention to us.”

On another matter, Senator Marcos addressed reports linking First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos to the cocaine overdose death of Paolo Tantoco, heir to the Rustan’s retail empire. The incident, which happened during a Manila Film Festival event, has sparked a wave of online speculation.

“It’s a huge embarrassment,” the senator said. “There were officials at that event because Manila Film was being promoted. I’m calling on them, if possible, please explain what really happened.”

However, Malacañang branded the reports as “fake news” and denounced what it called “shameful” attempts to link the First Lady to Tantoco’s death.

On Tuesday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro slammed social media posts and reports by so-called “obstructionists,” calling them false and politically motivated.

“It’s sad because those who are grieving are being dragged into politics… What they are doing is shameful,” Castro said in Filipino.

She clarified that Tantoco was not part of the First Lady’s official entourage and branded a supposed police report circulating online as fake.

“That report on Facebook is a lie. Even the wording — up to the word ‘Miro’ — was just added,” Castro said, referring to a Facebook post that included what it claimed was a police document.

The Palace maintained that Mrs. Marcos was in Los Angeles to attend the Manila International Film Festival and was seen at a concert on 8 March, the same night of Tantoco’s death.

Photos from the event, posted on her official Facebook page, showed her accompanied by Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco and MMDA Chair Romando Artes.