Malacañang said it respects the decision of the Senate if it would launch an investigation into the arrest and surrender of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after reelectionist and presidential sister Senator Imee Marcos expressed her intention to look into Duterte's arrest after sharing that she felt bad about the situation.

In a press briefing on Monday, March 17, Castro said the lady senator was welcome to proceed with her investigation and even expressed the government's openness to cooperate if need be.

"Kung yan po ang nais ni Senadora (If that's what the Senator wants), she's free to do that," she said.

"[We will cooperate] If necessary. If the inquiry is in aid of legislation, we will respect the request of Senator Imee," she added.

Asked if they were confident that they could satisfy Senator Marcos' queries, Castro reiterated that what the government did was legal.

"We just complied with all the requirements— with the law regarding the arrest of former president Duterte," she said.

Senator Marcos is one of the three senatorial hopefuls of the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas — the administration's senatorial candidates in the May 2025 polls — who were reportedly dismayed with Duterte's arrest. The other two were Senator Pia Cayetano and Congresswoman Camille Villar.

"Kung nalungkot po sila, hindi po natin saklaw ang kanilang damdamin (If they were saddened by what happened, we have no control over the feelings)," Castro said.

However, Castro couldn't help but wonder if the three senatorial aspirants were playing both sides.

"Isipin na lamang po nila, malapit na po ang eleksyon. Ito ba ay makaka-apekto sa mga boto ng tao (They should just think about it—the elections are approaching. Will this affect people's votes)?," she asked.

"Hindi ko po alam kung namamangka sila sa dalawang ilog at hayaan na lang po natin ang kanilang mga damdamin na ganyan (I don't know if they're playing both sides but let’s just leave their emotions as they are)," she added.