Malacañang maintained on Thursday it invoked executive privilege to protect sensitive details, and not to evade the Senate Foreign Relations Committee inquiry into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest.

Senator Imee Marcos had accused the government of hiding key facts about Duterte’s arrest after Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin wrote her and Senate President Chiz Escudero a letter on the day of the hearing saying that government officials may invoke executive privilege.

True enough, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and his brother, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, repeatedly invoked executive privilege during the hearing.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro explained that executive privilege allows high-ranking officials to withhold sensitive information to prevent undue encroachment by other branches of government.

“This applies to national security, diplomatic relations, military affairs, and internal deliberations. We are not hiding anything,” she said.

Malacañang maintained that Duterte’s arrest was legal, citing Republic Act 9851 which governs crimes against international humanitarian law.

Castro emphasized that while the Philippines had no legal obligation to turn Duterte over to the ICC, it followed RA 9851 and its Interpol commitments.

She pointed out that legal experts, including former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and ICC-accredited lawyer Joel Butuyan, affirmed the arrest’s legality.

However, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra strongly hinted the arrest was legally indefensible when he recused his office from representing the government in the habeas corpus petition filed by the Duterte children before the Supreme Court.