March 12 ------ President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. told supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte that the government was just doing its job when authorities arrested his predecessor. “The supporters of the former president? Well, you know -- again, the government is just doing its job. Wala namang -- it’s not because it’s one person or another that we do the things that we do,” Marcos said in a late Tuesday night press conference. “Maybe sa -- noong mga nakaraan na mga administrasyon, baka ganoon ang ginagawa. Pero para sa akin, hindi naman ganoon,” he added.
The President said the law was followed, and that the Philippines, as a member of the community of nations, “must live up to our responsibilities to the commitments that we have made to the community of nations.” He said the arrest was not politically motivated, adding that he was still a civilian when complaints were filed before the International Criminal Court on Duterte’s bloody drug war. “And that is what has happened here. Politics doesn’t enter into it. Bakit -- why -- he’s never going to be a candidate for anything. Why go after him? Hindi ba? At saka 2017 pa ito, wala pa ako, civilian pa ako noon,” Marcos said. “So, this is the evolution of his case. And this is where we end up,” he added.
He was not surprised that there were criticisms saying that the arrest was a form of political persecution. “Okay, well, I'm sure sasabihin nila ‘yan. But this case started in 2017 when we were still members of the ICC and it was during the time of former president Duterte,” Marcos said. “So, I don't see how that can be political persecution on my part because the -- it was initiated before I even came into the picture,” he added.
Duterte is already en route to The Hague, Netherlands after a warrant of arrest was served against him due to crimes against humanity. The Presidential Communications Office earlier confirmed that when the former president arrived in Manila from Hong Kong, authorities served the warrant of arrest from the ICC against him. Duterte had said he was ready to face the warrant of arrest issued by the ICC for his controversial war against illegal drugs, stressing that he would face it directly as a lawyer and would not escape to another country.
Source: gmanetwork.com
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