Marcos drops Imee from Alyansa senatorial slate?

MANILA, Philippines — Is Imee out of the administration’s senatorial ticket?

Speculations that President Marcos’ elder sister is no longer part of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas mounted after she was not mentioned by her brother in his speech during a campaign sortie in Cavite last Friday.

Suspicions were further fueled yesterday by Marcos’ remarks in Laguna, where he skipped mentioning Imee anew and rallied support for only 11 candidates of the Alyansa.

“Let us unite for our alliance. Let us not turn the Alyansa into a coalition of ten, 11 persons, 11 candidates running for senator with the Alyansa,” the President told supporters in Sta. Rosa City.

“Join us. We belong to the same alliance. Let us unite and improve the lives of every Filipino,” he added.

The Alyansa has not confirmed rumors that Imee has been dropped from its senatorial lineup.

While she is a candidate of the administration, Imee has been critical of the Marcos administration’s decision to surrender former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes against humanity.

Duterte, who had waged a drug war that killed more than 6,000 drug suspects, is now awaiting trial in The Hague. The former president’s children and allies have challenged the validity of his arrest before the Supreme Court.

During a Senate hearing on Duterte’s arrest last Thursday, Imee claimed that the Philippines has become a province of The Hague and has surrendered its sovereignty.

Malacañang has denied this, saying Duterte’s arrest was lawful and was in line with the Philippines’ commitment to the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol.