Sen. Imee Marcos and Former President Rodrigo Duterte. Jonathan Cellona and Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — Sen. Imee Marcos on Tuesday skipped a campaign sortie led by her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and criticized the arrest of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte.

“HINDI KO MATANGGAP ANG GINAWA KAY FPRRD,” Sen. Marcos said in a social media post where she apologized for her absence at the campaign sortie for the administration’s Senate ticket in Tacloban City, Leyte, her family’s bailiwick.

“Pinag-aaralan ko ang mga pangyayari upang maliwanagan ang sambayanan, makabuo ng makatotohanang solusyon patungkol sa pagtangay sa dating pangulo," she added.

Duterte faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder", according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

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His arrest in Manila followed a meltdown in relations between his family and the Marcos family, who had previously joined forces to run the Philippines.

President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte – Rodrigo's daughter – are at loggerheads, with the latter facing an impeachment trial over charges including an alleged assassination plot against Marcos.

Sara Duterte is in The Netherlands to support her father, after labelling his arrest "oppression and persecution", with the Duterte family having sought an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court to stop his transfer.

Marcos, asked Tuesday what he would say to Duterte supporters, said the government was "just doing its job".

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VILLARS BACK DUTERTE

Meanwhile, Former Senate President Manny Villar, his wife Sen.  Cynthia Villar, and their son Sen. Mark Villar have come out with statements of support for ex-President Duterte.

Cynthia Villar disagreed with the government's decision to surrender Duterte to the ICC, saying: "We don't give our former president to the foreigners."

Mark Villar, who served as Duterte's Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary, posted pictures of himself with the former leader, while recalling their time together and praying for fairness for Duterte.

"Mr President, I hope that you are in good health and being treated well. I’m sad that your simple wish to be judged by the Filipino people did not reach fruition. I continue to pray that you will be given the fairness and compassion that all Filipinos deserve," Mark Villar said.

Manny Villar said he had hoped that Duterte could have had “the opportunity to defend himself in our courts under the protection of our country’s rule of law.”

“I spent years protecting Filipinos overseas when they were charged abroad. That is why it was painful to see a very good friend, a former President who dedicated himself to public service, a Filipino citizen, being taken and charged by a foreign entity," he said.  

Duterte's first appearance at the International Criminal Court has been set for Friday. 

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— With reports from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse