Manila, March 20 -- The Philippines is an "independent" country, Malacanang said on Thursday, as it dismissed insinuations that the country is now a "province of The Hague."

"Hindi po natin ninais na maging probinsiya ng kahit anuman dahil po tayo ay isang independent country," Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro.

Senator Imee Marcos, in a Senate hearing on former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest, lamented that the former chief executive was surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of crimes against humanity due to the killings associated with his drug war.

She also asked since when did the Philippines "become a province of The Hague," as she expressed ...