Palace disputes Sara on dad's arrest

(UPDATE) MALACAÑANG on Wednesday dismissed as "baseless" Vice President Sara Duterte's statement that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should be held accountable for supposedly allowing the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and his eventual transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands.

Speaking to reporters, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Duterte's ICC arrest complied with Philippine laws and the country's obligations as a member of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

"First of all, the government, the administration took steps in accordance with the law and this is in cooperation with Interpol," Castro said.

"The government surrendered former president Duterte, who is considered an accused of crimes against humanity, particularly murder, which was also filed by fellow Filipinos who were allegedly victims of extrajudicial killings under the bloody war on drugs," she added.

Castro also reiterated Marcos' previous statement that he would not "preside on any process that will abandon even one square inch of the territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power."

"What the government did was not surrendering sovereignty, but surrendering an accused," the Palace official said.

Vice President Duterte earlier accused Marcos of committing an impeachable offense for allegedly allowing the arrest of her father and his eventual transfer to the ICC detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands.

She said Marcos violated the Constitution and betrayed public trust by allowing "foreign jurisdiction" to meddle in Philippine sovereignty.

The vice president remained firm that her father's arrest would not push through without Marcos' approval.

"What we call rendition or kidnapping or taking a citizen within his own country and taking him to a foreign jurisdiction to be imprisoned there, that wouldn't happen without the approval of the President," she said.

But Castro brushed off Duterte's statement as "baseless."

"The President will not sell or surrender any part of our country's rights to anyone. The opinion coming from our vice president has no... basis," she said.