Palace denies rumors that Liza Marcos was held by US law enforcers
Malacañang has shut down claims that First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos was held by law enforcers during her trip to the US.
Araneta-Marcos visited the country to participate in the Meeting of the Minds and the Manila International Film Festival. She stayed in Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California from March 5 to 8.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that "there is no truth that [the First Lady] was held by any law enforcers while in LA or and in any other place."
Castro detailed that the wife of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had already returned to Manila at around 5 a.m. on March 10.
"At 5:58 a.m., she was already on her way to her place from the airport," she said.
In a Facebook post on March 11, Araneta-Marcos shared that she had met up with the Girl Scouts of the Philippines association to hand over monetary donations.
The meeting was held in her office in Manila.
Rumors of her detention in the US came amid former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest for his alleged crimes against humanity, which was ordered by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He is now under the Hague-based tribunal's custody after he arrived in the Netherlands at 11:54 p.m. (Philippine time) on March 12, as confirmed by ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah.
As stated in the warrant obtained by The Philippine STAR, Duterte was apprehended for murder, torture, and rape—which are part of the 15 forms of crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute—in connection with his administration's bloody war on drugs called Oplan Tokhang that saw the execution of thousands of suspected drug peddlers, users, and small-time criminals.
In a press briefing, Marcos explained that the former Davao mayor was arrested in "compliance with our commitments to Interpol," which had asked for their help.
"If we don't do that, they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad. This is what the international community expects of us as the leader of a democratic country that is part of the community of nations," he said.
