Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero Reacts To Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s Remark over AFP
CHIZ ESCUDERO – The Senate President reacted to Vice President Sara Duterte questioning the “silence” of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during the arrest of her father, former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
The arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is surrounded by a lot of issues. There are questions about the validity of the arrest warrant against him as well as the presence of the due process in the implementation of the arrest.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is now under the custody of the ICC (International Criminal Court) which welcomed his arrest. The ICC issued an arrest warrant against the former President over the allegations surrounding his administration’s war on drugs.
Duterte was arrested last March 11 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) upon his arrival from Hong Kong. The Philippine National Police (PNP) implemented the arrest of the former President.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte stayed at Villamor Air Base for several hours before his flight to Dubai en route The Hague, Netherlands. Criminal Investigation and Detection Group or CIDG chief Nicholas Torre III claimed that Honeylet Avanceña refused to go with Duterte, thus, the flight was delayed.
Amid the many questions over the arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte expressed question on the alleged “silence” of the AFP or the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the arrest of her father. She stressed that former Pres. Duterte is the former chief of the AFP.
Recently, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero expressed his reaction to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte questioning the “silence” of the AFP during the implementation of the arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the Senate President expressed doubt on the concern of the Vice President.
“Maliban sa ito’y patuloy, pagpapatuloy ng tila mensahe na common sa kanila, na umaapila palagi sa sandatahang lakas, sa anumang level, anumang issue, anumang kaganapan,” he said.
Based on the report, Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero emphasized that the arrest was a law enforcement operation and the AFP was only there to assist the PNP. According to him, the AFP cannot go against the PNP operation as it was a law enforcement move.
“Pero anong gusto niyang palabasin? Magbabangayan ang sundalo at ang pulis? Klaro, law enforcement operation yun na nag-assist lamang ang AFP,” Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero said.
Amid the questions on the arrest of the former President, Senator Imee Marcos said former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte seems like has no country of his own when he was surrendered by the government to the foreign court.