Malacañang on Saturday rejected Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim that the Senate’s dismissal of her impeachment case was a blow aimed at the Marcos administration, stressing that the executive branch had nothing to do with initiating or pushing for her removal from office.

In an interview, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro pointed out the impeachment complaint originated in the House of Representatives, not Malacañang.

“First of all, perhaps the Vice President should be reminded that it was not the Marcos administration, not the executive, that filed or submitted the articles of impeachment but the House of Representatives,” Castro said.

She noted that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had consistently taken a hands-off stance in both the legislative and judicial processes in Duterte’s case.

“If there are claims that the decision is against someone — against whom exactly? Most probably, it’s against the House of Representatives, the prosecutors, and those who want to uncover the truth about the confidential funds,” she said.

Castro also disputed Duterte’s allegation that the Presidential Communications Office fabricated a story about her supposedly unauthorized trip to Kuwait.

She said the Palace only responded to media inquiries about Duterte’s whereabouts, and even her spokesperson appeared unaware of where she was.

“We were only asked about this because they were looking for her, and it seemed even her spokesperson didn’t know where she was. What we said was we had no knowledge of it, no information at all, so we asked the Office of the Executive Secretary if there was a travel authority,” Castro said.