Malacañang on Friday confirmed that the Office of the President paid for the chartered aircraft that transported former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague, Netherlands, following his arrest in the Philippines.

“Opo, ina-admit po na ang palasyo po, ang nagbayad, ang gobyerno po, ito ay may kaugnayan sa assistance po na ibinigay natin sa Interpol (Yes, it is admitted that the palace, the government, paid for this, as it is related to the assistance we provided to Interpol),” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro told reporters in a press briefing.

Castro explained that the action was part of the Philippines' commitment to fully uphold its obligations to Interpol.

“Sabi nga natin kapag hiningi ang assistance, siyempre dapat kompleto po. Dahil kung wala namang i-provide na sasakyan para magdala ang dating Pangulo sa ICC, parang hindi rin naging kompleto ang pagtugon natin sa ating commitment to the Interpol (As we said, when assistance is requested, it should of course be complete. Because if there is no vehicle provided to transport the former President to the ICC, it would seem that we did not fully fulfill our commitment to Interpol),” she said.

Castro said she could not immediately provide details about the cost of the chartered plane.

“Wala po tayong kompletong detail about that. At maaari siguro, hindi ko agad masasabi kung meron man po dahil meron po kaugnayan ito sa isang pribadong korporasyon (We do not have complete details about that. And perhaps, I cannot immediately say if there is anything because this is related to a private corporation),” she said.

It was Justice Secretary Jonvic Remulla who first confirmed in a television interview that the government paid for the chartered aircraft that brought Duterte to The Hague.

“The plane is chartered by the Office of the President. We brought him straight to the Netherlands,” Remulla said.

He declined to disclose the cost of the flight or the identity of the aircraft's owner.