00:00Meanwhile, the chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations mocked ranking officials
00:05of the executive headed by Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who, as expected, begged off to
00:10show up for allegedly getting cold feet.
00:13Strangely enough, Bersamin's excuse alleging all questions which needed to be answered
00:18have already been satisfied and invoking executive privilege was given a pass by the Senate president.
00:25Our Daniel Manalastas has more.
00:29Based on a letter from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin to Senate President Chiz Escudero,
00:34he argued that executive privilege applies in proceedings like the Senate Committee on
00:39Foreign Relations regarding the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
00:43Bersamin already insisted that government officials answered all the questions to the
00:47best of their knowledge regarding the issue.
00:51Government officials snubbed the hearing.
00:52But if Escudero would be asked, executive privilege is allowed particularly for executive
00:58branch officials not to answer or attend the hearing.
01:22Because of that, some senators want to issue a subpoena to those who skipped the hearing.
01:27But according to Escudero, it will be studied by the Senate legal team first.
01:44During the hearing, Senator Aimee Marcos, meanwhile, named alleged ICC personnel who
02:19made his first Senate appearance since former President Duterte's arrest.
02:25And despite of the possible issuance of a warrant from the ICC, he is mulling the possibility
02:31of actually visiting the former president in the Dahig.
02:45Escudero meanwhile believes that there is not enough reason to consider that the government
02:49is hiding something.
02:50Daniel Manalanskas from the National TV for a new and better Philippines.
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