Malacañang has refuted the claims of Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte that the impeachment complaint filed against President Marcos was just a "scripted distraction."

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro belied Duterte's allegation that the administration was the one behind the impeachment case, stressing that Marcos is "not expert in planting evidence."

"Unang-una po, gusto nating ipabatid na ang Pangulo po at ang administrasyon na ito ay hindi po eksperto sa paggawa ng intriga at hindi eksperto sa pagplanta ng ebidensiya (First of all, we would like to make it clear that the President and this administration are not experts in creating intrigue, nor are they experts in planting evidence)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, Jan. 20. 

Duterte questioned the motive behind the filing of impeachment against Marcos as he described it as "conflict of interest or political multi-tasking," citing that the lawyer behind the filing has represented the First Lady in a disbarment complaint against a lawmaker.

Castro said there is no truth to this.

"Kung ang sinasabi niya ay ang nagsampa raw ng kaso ay abogado na nag-represent kay Unang Ginang or First Lady Liza Marcos, iyan po ay walang katotohanan (If what he is saying is that the one who allegedly filed the case is a lawyer who represented the First Lady, Liza Marcos, that is not true)," Castro said.

The Palace official strongly bellied Marcos had a hand on the filing of impeachment case against himself.

"Definitely, none. Kaya nga sabi natin, hindi po tayo sangkot sa anumang pagplanta ng ebidensiya katulad ng ginawa ng kanyang ama. Sila lang po yata ang sanay sa ganoon. So, sa panahon po ni Pangulong Marcos Jr., nirirespeto po natin ang Konstitusyon, ang proseso at ang due process (Definitely, none. That’s why we said that we are not involved in any planting of evidence like what his father did. They are probably the only ones accustomed to doing that. So, under President Marcos Jr., we respect the Constitution, the process, and due process)," Castro said, taking a swipe at the Duterte administration.

Any impeachment complaint filed against the President, Castro said, is not an advantage and will not be good for his image, rejecting claims that the recently filed impeachment against Marcos, once referred to the House Committee on Justice, will prevent any more impeachment raps within a year.

"Hindi po natin masasabi na ang pagpa-file ng impeachment complaint paunahan ay bentahe sa Pangulo. Kahit sino pa po ang nag-file niyan, hindi maganda sa imahe ng Pangulo na siya ay masampahan ng impeachment complaint (We cannot say that being the first to file an impeachment complaint is an advantage for the President. Regardless of who filed it, it is not good for the President’s image to be faced with an impeachment complaint)," Castro said.

The Palace official also stressed that any impeachment complaint against the Chief Executive is not good for the country's economy.

"Hindi rin po ito maganda sa pananaw ng mga ekonomista, sa ating ekonomiya dahil nakikita po may mga taong diumano na hindi satisfied or negatibo sa pagtatrabaho ng Pangulo (This is also not good from the perspective of economists and for our economy, because it gives the impression that there are people who are allegedly dissatisfied or negative about the President’s performance)," Castro said.

"So, hindi po ito bentahe, kahit sino pa po ang nagsampa niyan, hindi po maganda na makatanggap ang Pangulo ng isang impeachment complaint (So, this is not an advantage, no matter who filed it, it is not good for the President to receive an impeachment complaint)," Castro added.

The Palace also maintained Marcos' statement over the impeachment complaint, saying he respects the process.

Meanwhile, Castro said she has yet to be informed whether the President and his son, House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, have spoken over the impeachment case, but assured that the younger Marcos will simply do his job with no bias.

"[L]agi naman pong utos ng Pangulo sa kanyang anak, gawin lang ang kanyang trabaho. Hindi puwede rito ang kamag-anak, kaalyado. Kung ano po ang mandato ni Congressman Sandro, ipatupad po niya iyon. Wala dapat siyang kinikilingan, kahit ama po niya ang masasabing malalagay dito sa impeachment complaint (The President’s standing instruction to his son has always been to simply do his job. There is no room here for relatives or allies. Whatever the mandate of Congressman Sandro is, he should carry it out. He must not favor anyone, even if it is his own father who could be implicated in the impeachment complaint)," Castro said.