MANILA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Philippine senator Imee Marcos, the elder sister of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, on Monday called for an urgent investigation into the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, saying the issue has "deeply divided" the Southeast Asian country.

"It is imperative to establish whether due process was followed and to ensure that his legal rights were not upheld but protected, especially given the involvement of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the International Criminal Court (ICC)," said Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

She stressed the need for the Senate to address "these critical concerns to uphold the country's jurisdiction and to clarify policies governing our law enforcement agencies and their engagement with international tribunals."

"Our sovereignty and legal processes must remain paramount," she added.

To shed light on this matter, Marcos said she would invite key officials and agencies, including officials from the national police, justice department, and foreign affairs department, among others, as resource persons and witnesses.

The Philippine authorities arrested and flew Duterte, 79, out of the country to The Hague in the Netherlands on March 11. The Philippines surrendered Duterte to the custody of the ICC on March 12.

Duterte is being detained in an ICC jail to face trial over his controversial "war on drugs" campaign.

Over the weekend, Duterte's supporters in the Philippines have staged protest rallies to urge the government to bring the former president home. In Davao City alone, local media estimated that 30,000 people gathered on Sunday to support the former city mayor.

Meanwhile, anti-Duterte supporters, including the relatives of the alleged extrajudicial killings, also held rallies urging the ICC to arrest Duterte's former police chiefs, Ronald de la Rosa and Oscar Albayalde, for their alleged involvement in Duterte's drug war. Enditem

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