Malacanang defended on Tuesday Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. who called Vice President Leni Robredo a "boba (stupid)."

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Locsin apologized to Robredo for calling her ''stupid'' when she defended former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario who used a diplomatic passport in going to Hong Kong last week, but was denied entry by its immigration authorities.

The incident prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel diplomatic passports to certain private individuals, including Del Rosario.

"He (Locsin) is known for his colorful language, just like the late Senator Miriam (Defensor-Santiago) was; in the same way that the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is also known for that. But this doesn’t diminish his competence to act as Secretary of Foreign Affairs," he said.

Panelo noted that Locsin has apologized to Robredo over his "boba" tweet against her.

"That means he (Locsin) committed a mistake in calling her ‘boba.’ Because when somebody tweeted to him that the VP is really that, he said, 'No, she’s our Vice President and she succeeds to the presidency and only voters choose who our President will be.' So, it means on his view, she should not have done that," he explained.

Panelo also blamed Del Rosario why he had to undergo such an ordeal with the Hong Kong authorities.

"The problem there is the former Secretary of Foreign Affairs created his own problem, his own mess. He knew from the very start that there was something wrong in going there given the incident involving the former Ombudsman Chief (Conchita) Morales. What he could have done - or according to him he did it - was to write the DFA and told DFA of his intention. But the problem is he did not wait for the response of the DFA. DFA certainly would have made communications with the Chinese Government or the Hong Kong authorities if it’s alright for him to enter Hong Kong. He did not wait. Plus, he said he did it on purpose. Isn't he said, 'I tested it,' now he's complaining," he explained.

Last month, Hong Kong immigration also barred Morales from entering China's administrative region for being a "security risk."

Del Rosario and Morales previously filed a complaint against Chinese President Xi Jinping for alleged crimes against humanity for the destruction of the marine environment due to the artificial lands Beijing constructed in the South China Sea and the loss of livelihood of thousands of Filipino fishermen from the disputed waters. Celerina Monte/DMS