Senator Imee Marcos and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� It鈥檚 no longer surprising for Senate President Francis 鈥淐hiz鈥� Escudero if political families have misunderstandings prior to elections.
This was his answer when asked to comment on the alleged misunderstanding between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sen. Imee Marcos in a press briefing on Monday.
鈥淗indi ko aambisyunan hanapan ng paliwanag, rason o lohika ang mga kaganapan nitong nagdaang dalawang linggo. Dahil sa dulo, magkamag-anak, magkapatid sila at anumang hindi nila pagkakaunawaan ay madali at pwedeng maresolbahan 鈥榶an pagkalipas lamang ng maikli o mahaba mang panahon,鈥� Escudero said.
(It鈥檚 not my ambition to find an explanation, reason, and logic to what happened in the previous weeks. Because in the end, they are siblings and whatever misunderstanding they have may be resolved in time.)
鈥淪a larangan ng pulitika, hindi na rin ako magugulat kung magkaroon ng hindi pagkakaunawaan ang magkamag-anak at hanggang sa araw ng eleksyon lahat ng posibilidad ay puwedeng mangyari.
(In politics, I鈥檒l no longer be surprised if family misunderstandings occur until elections. All possibilities may happen.)
Rumors of an alleged rift between the president and his sister came after the senator decided to distance herself from the administration-backed Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
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According to Sen. Marcos, she will be skipping the administration slate鈥檚 campaign rallies in the meantime as she wants to focus on the case of a Filipino surrendered by the Philippine government to a foreign institution.
Last March 11, former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the order of the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is facing a case for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his administration鈥檚 drug war.聽He is currently detained in a facility in The Hague.
Sen. Marcos said this is not only about the case of聽Duterte, but the Philippine sovereignty.
In a seemingly bold response, President Marcos has stopped mentioning his older sister鈥檚 name during campaign sorties twice now: the first one in Cavite and the second in Laguna.
President Marcos also brushed off claims that Duterte鈥檚 arrest was a political persecution.
According to the president, the government only complied with the Interpol.
He also emphasized that his administration did not cooperate with the ICC regarding Duterte鈥檚 case.
The president previously declared that his administration would not lift a finger to help the ICC.
鈥淲e are not communicating with the ICC. They have requested many documents from us, but we did not provide anything. However, we cannot refuse Interpol when they ask for our help in apprehending this person,鈥� he said then.