Palace on VP remark: What state kidnapping?

There’s no way former president Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and flight to the Netherlands could be considered “state kidnapping” as claimed by his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte, Malacañang said yesterday, pointing out that the procedure was carried out based on a valid warrant of arrest.

- HELEN FLORES

“State kidnapping. What does she mean by that – state kidnapping?” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing.

“How could it be a kidnapping if there was a warrant of arrest? It was issued by an authority, by the court. When there is an issuance of any order from the court, we have to comply – especially with what happened to us – through Interpol,” Castro said.

The former Philippine leader was arrested on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 upon his arrival from Hong Kong.

Castro, a lawyer, stressed that kidnapping means carrying away a person by force.

“Let’s say a sheriff is serving warrant. We can’t just turn our back on him, or hurt him or punch him. That’s not acceptable,” she said, in an apparent reference to the Vice President’s controversial punching of a sheriff in 2011 when she was Davao City mayor.