Vice President Sara Duterte said the welfare check conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last week on his father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, was done with malice.

In a press briefing on Monday, 29 September, Duterte said there was an ulterior motive in the welfare check conducted by the DFA to the detained former president on 24 September.

"I see malice in that. Because number one, they never did a welfare check. Number two, they did not coordinate with the defense team or the family members, who were at that time in The Hague," Duterte pointed out.

"Hindi kami nakakakuha ng information sa loob ng detention center. Nalaman ko na lang yung sa welfare check dahil sa report na binigay sa Office of the President. Bago yun, hindi namin alam yun (We don't get information inside the detention center. I only found out about the welfare check because of the report given to the Office of the President. Before that, we didn't know)," she added.

Earlier, Duterte lamented the welfare check conducted by the DFA, saying it "is nothing less than an abuse of power against a vulnerable individual."

The DFA, meanwhile, said it is in line with its functions, citing the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and relevant Philippine laws to protect the welfare of all Filipinos.

It also reiterated that it is "no different from what the DFA does for other Filipino citizens who are in detention abroad."

The former president is currently detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, facing charges of crimes against humanity.