Imee Marcos: Escudero stops contempt appeal, orders release of Lacanilao
Sen. Imee Marcos–Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Chiz Escudero refused to sign the contempt order against Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Amb. Markus Lacanilao, ordering his release from the Senate detention facility instead.
This was according to Senate panel on foreign relations chairperson and presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos who could not hide her disappointment on Thursday evening.
“Ambassador Markus Lacanilao has now been released—despite being cited in contempt for lying and giving misleading statements on the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte,” said Marcos in a statement.
“As expected, Senate President Escudero refused to sign the contempt order. Just like he refused to sign the subpoenas. This time, he went even further—he ordered Lacanilao’s release, in spite of the ambassador’s blatant and repeated lies before the Senate committee on foreign relations,” she added.
According to the lady senator, Escudero’s move was simultaneously disappointing and dangerous.
“When the Senate’s authority is ignored this openly, what’s the point of investigations? What’s the point of truth?” she asked.
She then pointed out that the chamber is “setting a terrible precedent—and it won’t be the last.”
‘An insult to the institution’
In a separate text message to reporters also on Thursday, the lady senator did not hide her “extreme disappointment” on Escudero’s decision.
“As a result of the inexplicable decision of the Senate President, Ambassador Lacanilao is free to walk, hours after he blatantly lied, under oath, over and over again to the Committee. The lies were so clear that I fail to comprehend why the Senate President, who is a lawyer, fails to see them,” she said.
The presidential sister said she is certain that the Senate chief does not need to be reminded that the contempt power of the Senate is premised on the institution’s very own self-preservation.
“How can the Senate ensure its survival and effectiveness if people can lie under oath before the institution without any consequence? This decision by the Senate President is an insult to the Senate committee on foreign relations and an affront to the integrity of the institution he leads,” she underscored.
The Senate panel on foreign relations cited for contempt Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Amb. Markus Lacanilao for allegedly lying during the chamber’s public hearing probing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.
READ: Torre, others expected at Duterte arrest inquiry
Sen. Bato dela Rosa made the motion during the panel’s Thursday hearing after Lacanilao repeatedly stated that he was not aware whether or not Duterte was brought to a local court before he was transported to The Hague, Netherlands.
