Senator Imee Marcos at the Senate committee on foreign relations hearing on the locations of EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) sites on April 19, 2023. Mark Demayo ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Sen. Imee Marcos has withdrawn from the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas endorsed by her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. citing differences over the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Sen. Marcos last week held a Senate hearing on Duterte's arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.

She said she will present her preliminary findings soon but said the government's actions "run counter to my ideals and principles."

She added: "Thus, I cannot stand on the same campaign platform as the rest of the Alyansa."

Imee Marcos skips Alyansa event in Cavite to focus on Duterte arrest

Sen. Marcos had earlier on declined inclusion in the slate, saying she wanted to be able to talk to both factions in the former UniTeam alliance.

President Marcos said his sister was welcome on the slate and that the administration would support her reelection campaign. He did not mention Sen. Marcos at a campaign sortie on March 21 when he batted for the members of the administration ticket.

Imee 'clueless' if she's still included in Alyansa slate after Marcos Jr.'s omission

"As I have stated from the outset of the election period, I will continue to maintain my independence," Sen. Marcos said Wednesday.

In the same statement, she said government resource speakers' answers — and lack of them when they invoked executive privilege and the sub judice rule — "only gave rise to ever greater suspicion that the Constitution may have been disregarded and our sovereignty diminished by the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte."

Alyansa campaign manager Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said, "We respect Senator Imee’s decision."

"We wish her luck in the campaign," he added.