Malacañang has invoked executive privilege in anticipation of a Senate investigation due to the confidentiality of some issues that the Senators may discuss during the hearing, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said.
In a chance interview with reporters on Thursday, April 3, Bersamin said Malacañang had already formally notified Senator Imee Marcos and Senate President Francis Escudero about the limitations on what executive officials can disclose in the proceedings.
“When we reviewed the topics mentioned in Sen. Imee’s invitation, we noticed that many of them could potentially fall under executive privilege,” Bersamin said.
“We wanted to formally inform the senator and the Senate President in advance that our Cabinet secretaries and other executive officials would not be compelled to answer questions on these particular matters. That was the main purpose of the letter,” he added.
Executive privilege is a legal principle that allows the President and high-ranking officials to withhold certain information from other government branches to safeguard national security or confidential executive communications.
Marcos previously revealed that Cabinet officials would not be present at the second day of the hearing on April 3 after receiving an official notice from Bersamin. She then urged Malacañang to “reconsider” the decision and allow the invited Cabinet members to attend the scheduled proceedings.
During Thursday’s hearing, the senator expressed disappointment over the absence of Cabinet officials.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s elder sister has released the panel’s preliminary findings, stating that there were “glaring violations” of Duterte’s rights.
The 80-year-old former president faces charges of crimes against humanity for murder in connection with his “war on drugs,” which led to the deaths of thousands.
Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11 upon his return from Hong Kong, based on an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. He was transferred to the Hague Penitentiary Institution, also known as Scheveningen Prison, on March 13 (PH time) and made his initial appearance before the ICC via video link the following day. (TCSP)
