resident Rodrigo Duterte's public admission that his only sin was the extrajudicial killings (EJK) could not be used as evidence against him, Malacanang said on Friday.

In a radio interview, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said when Duterte made the remarks, he was not under oath.

"In the first place, it was not a statement under oath. So how can you say that it's self-incriminating? It's not," said Roque, a lawyer by profession.

He also said Duterte should not be taken seriously with his statement, as he was just "being playful" and he was just trying to highlight the point that he was not corrupt.

"He (Duterte) is not serious. He only said it because he was always being accused of that. But he was also stressing that he was not corrupt. I don't think it's context is literal," Roque stressed.

In a speech before public servants in Malacanang Thursday, Duterte said he could not be accused of being corrupt.

If he has any sin, it was the extrajudicial killings only, he said.

For his part, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said Duterte was taken out of context.

He clarified that what Duterte meant was the only issue being thrown to Duterte was extrajudicial killings.

"You have to look it in the context of, one, the President is Bisaya. He's not Manileno," he said.

He said the media should have related Duterte's latest statement with his previous remarks wherein he denied the administration's involvement in the extrajudicial killings.

"I know that that is where the President is coming from. And perhaps, in Bisaya, it’s lost in translation," Panelo added.

The Duterte administration has been criticized for the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the country.

A complaint was even filed against Duterte before the International Criminal Court due to the death of thousands of Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal drugs. Celerina Monte/DMS