Malacañang on Wednesday dismissed claims from the camp of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte that there was a “state-kidnapping” during the serving of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the former chief executive on 11 March.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro raised questions about how supporters of Duterte define a "state-kidnapping."

“State kidnapping. What does she mean by that – state kidnapping? Well, I guess I have to stick with the word kidnapping. Anu-ano po ba iyong elements ng kidnapping? Pagkuha nang sapilitan nang walang awtoridad – iyon ang pinakasimple para sa taumbayan (What are the elements of kidnapping? It is the forcible action without having authority – that’s the simplest explanation for the public),” she told reporters.

Castro stressed that Duterte’s arrest cannot be considered a state-kidnapping with the presence of a court warrant.

“Unang-una po, paano po magiging kidnapping kung may warrant of arrest? (First of all, how can you call it a kidnapping if there’s a warrant of arrest? It was issued by an authority, by the court),” she said.

The Palace official further noted that any order issued by the court must be complied with.

“Especially sa atin pong nangyari ay through Interpol. Hindi po puwedeng kapag po nagsi-serve ang sinumang awtoridad let’s say sheriff ay atin na lang pong itong tatalikuran or ating sasaktan o ating susuntukin – hindi pupuwedeng ganoon (Especially to what happened to us earlier, it was through Interpol. It is not allowed that when any authority, let’s say a sheriff, is serving [a warrant], we just turn our back on it or hurt or punch them – that’s not allowed),” Castro said.

In July 2011, then-Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte punched a court sheriff for insisting on demolishing houses inside a contested property in Barangay Soliman, Agdao District.

The young Duterte reportedly punched Sheriff Abe Andres four times. The court official was initially hit in the left eye.

Andres was explaining to the mayor that he was merely enforcing a court order when Duterte threw two more punches that landed on his face.

Castro further emphasized the importance of following orders issued by the court.

“Kung ano po ang nandidiyan at ligal po na masasabi nating order from the court (What is there and legally stated as an order from the court)—we should abide by that,” she said.

She then insisted that Duterte’s ICC arrest was legal.

“So, wala po akong nakikitang kidnapping dahil hindi nga po ito puwersahan at lahat po ng elemento na dapat pong gamitin para masabing valid iyong warrant of arrest at iyong paghingi ng assistance ng Interpol ay nandidiyan naman po. Kumpleto po tayo ng papel (So, I don't see any kidnapping here, because this was not done forcefully, and all the elements that should be used to validate the warrant of arrest and the request for assistance from Interpol are present. We have all the necessary documents),” Castro said.

Surrender, not extradite

Meanwhile, Castro also debunked claims that the former president was extradited to The Hague, Netherlands.

“He was not extradited in the first place, he was surrendered. It would be different from—to surrender and to extradite – so, I just have to correct on that,” she said.

On 11 March, Duterte was handed over to Interpol through the arrest warrant issued by the ICC, where he faces charges of “crimes against humanity” for implementing the bloody war on drugs campaign.

The former chief executive was arrested after arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. He was then quickly flown to The Hague, Netherlands, where the ICC is located.

On Wednesday morning, Duterte made a brief layover in Dubai.

Castro also cited the government’s decision to “surrender” Duterte to international authorities to face trial at the ICC as legal under Republic Act (RA) 9851.

“It is regular, what we did—what the government did was regular. It is based on the law, based on our own law – RA 9851. If you will say that it is normal, I can say it is, but this is the first time that we did this. So, if you did everything based on the law, I think there could be no question on that,” she pointed out.

In his late-night public address on Tuesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized that the Philippines was merely cooperating with Interpol when Duterte was handed over.

Duterte and his supporters have contested the arrest, with Vice President Sara Duterte calling it a “state kidnapping.”

Several petitions for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and habeas corpus have been filed to bring Duterte back to the Philippines.