Escudero on Marcos siblings’ ‘misunderstanding’: Not surprising
Senator Imee Marcos and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — It’s no longer surprising for Senate President Francis “Chiz” 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.
“Hindi 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 ‘yan pagkalipas lamang ng maikli o mahaba mang panahon,” Escudero said.
(It’s 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.)
“Sa 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’ll 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.
READ: Imee Marcos skips admin sortie: ‘I can’t accept what was done to Duterte’
According to Sen. Marcos, she will be skipping the administration slate’s 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’s drug war. He is currently detained in a facility in The Hague.
Sen. Marcos said this is not only about the case of Duterte, but the Philippine sovereignty.
In a seemingly bold response, President Marcos has stopped mentioning his older sister’s name during campaign sorties twice now: the first one in Cavite and the second in Laguna.
President Marcos also brushed off claims that Duterte’s 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’s case.
The president previously declared that his administration would not lift a finger to help the ICC.
“We 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,” he said then.
