Palace Denies Withholding Info on Duterte Arrest

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro on Wednesday, April 2, denied allegations that the Marcos administration is withholding information regarding the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte in March.

During a Malacañang press briefing, Castro reiterated the contents of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin’s March 31 letter, which stated that Cabinet officials would not attend the April 3 hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, citing executive privilege.

“Based on what had been decided, Cabinet members already know that, in their view, the facts and data they gave during the first hearing by [Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chair] Imee Marcos were sufficient,” Castro said.

“We think, considering that she already had preliminary findings, we cannot say that questions went unanswered if this was in aid of legislation.”

“Most likely, our Cabinet officials have given enough for her to draft a law on this,” she added.

Castro also clarified her previous statement on March 31 that the administration was not preventing officials from attending Senate hearings, explaining that no decision had been made at that time.

“We just want to clarify that Senator Imee Marcos said herself she received the letter from [Bersamin] in the evening of March 31,” she said.

“So during our March 31 press briefing, no decision had been made yet.”

Castro rejected Senator Marcos’ claim that the administration was hiding information by barring officials from the Senate hearing.

“There was nothing hidden because the long hours of the first hearing were sufficient for Cabinet officials to say what needed to be said regarding surrendering former President Duterte to the International Criminal Court,” she said.

Castro added that Bersamin has not yet responded to the senator’s request to reconsider the decision.

Senator Marcos, the president’s sister, previously said there were still unanswered questions for Cabinet officials about Duterte’s arrest.

She also cited her findings as the reason for her withdrawal from the administration’s senatorial slate for the 2025 elections on March 26.