Chinese Foreign Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guo Jiakun has refuted allegations that former president Rodrigo Duterte requested for asylum from China when he visited Hong Kong prior to his arrest.

In a press briefing on Monday, Guo said the ministry did not receive any application for asylum from the former president nor his family member.

He also noted that Duterte’s visit to Hong Kong days before his arrest was a private trip.

“Let me point out in particular that Mr. Duterte’s visit to Hong Kong was a private vacation trip,” Guo said.

“We have never received the so-called application for asylum to the Chinese government from former president Rodrigo Duterte or his family,” he added.

The clarification was made after a local broadcast network published a report about Duterte’s purported asylum application in China which was denied.

Duterte was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on 11 March upon his return from Hong Kong, where he attended a Kingdom of Jesus Christ event with overseas Filipino workers.

On the same day, he was flown to The Hague, where the ICC is based, to face charges of murder linked to his anti-illegal drugs crackdown in the Philippines between 11 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.

Guo said that the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong has already responded to Duterte's visit to Hong Kong, and relevant personnel from the Philippine side has also made statements.

“We hope people from the media can be careful about the so-called ‘information from sources,’ either unfounded or ill-motivated, and do not easily believe what they hear,” he said.