Manila, April 11 -- The spate of abductions in the Philippines is not a laughing matter, Malacanang said on Friday.

This, after former president Rodrigo Duterte's partner, Honeylet Avancena, "congratulated" the Marcos administration amid the rise in kidnapping cases in the country, citing the abduction and murder of Filipino-Chinese entrepreneur Anson Que.

"Nakakalungkot dahil muli mababanggit na naman natin ang mga kaalyado ni dating Pangulong Duterte. Hindi po ginagawa na katatawanan ang isang ganitong klaseng sitwasyon (It's sad because we're going to mention the allies of former President Duterte again. This kind of situation is not a laughing matter)," Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Clair...