Senate Probe on Duterte Arrest Attended by CIDG Chief Nicolas Torre, Several Other Gov’t Officials
CIDG chief Nicolas Torre III admitted that he denied the request of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to let Vice Pres. Sara Duterte see him.
The arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is being investigated in the Senate. Senator Imee Marcos surprisingly led the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in its probe on the controversial arrest of the former President last March 11 which led to his detention in The Hague, Netherlands now.
Duterte’s custody was transferred to the International Criminal Court following the arrest. He is faced with an allegation of crimes against humanity before the ICC. Previously, it was confirmed by Malacañang that the cabinet officials will attend the Imee Marcos-led 3rd Senate inquiry over Duterte’s arrest.
The Senate panel specifically wants Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Nicolas Torre III to be one of those who will attend the investigation. He was the lead implementer in the arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. The CIDG Chief attended the probe.
At the Senate panel investigation, CIDG chief Nicolas Torre admitted that he denied the request of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to allow him to see Vice Pres. Sara Duterte before he will be flown to The Hague, Netherlands. Based on a report on GMA News, Torre revealed that he told the former President that he could only see the Vice President when she visits him during his detention in The Hague.
The CIDG Chief also stressed that it was already late. According to him, there were a lot of time when the Vice President could have visited her father early.
“Yes, sir, I did prevent the request… I did deny the request of President Duterte for him to allow VP Sara to enter. Kasi nga naman, mag alas-diyes na nu’n and that’s already around 12 hours after we first got him into custody. The VP had all the chances… earlier that day,” Torre expressed.
Based on the report, during the Senate panel inquiry over Duterte’s arrest, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano emphasized the visiting rights of former Pres. Duterte either by his immediate family or medical doctor. According to the Senator, the CIDG Chief also did not allow the personal doctor of the former President to see him while he was detained at the Villamor Air Base.
“We have substantial doctors… I think we have complied with [RA] 7438,” Torre said.
Currently, former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is detained in the Hague Penitentiary Institution for more than three weeks now. The ICC has confirmed that the investigation on the other personalities liked to Duterte drug war is “ongoing”.