(UPDATED) Senators looking into the arrest and surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court for trial on crimes against humanity faced off with executive branch officials Thursday.

While the hearing was off to a calm start, things came to a head when the discussions shifted to the question of who ordered the former president to be flown out of the country the day he was arrested.

"So, who gave the order to have President Duterte transported to the Hague? Sino nagbigay sa iyo ng order?" Senator Ronald dela Rosa asked.

"Sir, my order is to serve, the order that I received from the chief of the Philippine National Police is to serve the warrant and ensure his delivery to the 250th wing to the team that will deliver him to the Hague. On the nuances of the higher authorities, I may not be privy to that information," Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief P/Maj. Gen. Nicolas Deloso Torre III replied.

"Sino nag-order sa'yo na isakay siya sa eroplano?" dela Rosa asked.

"Can I defer the question, sir? The answer to the questions to the SOJ, considering that I have a team of people there," Torre said.

"You are the one there. Wala si SOJ doon. Ikaw nagkarga sa kanya sa eroplano. Kaya tinatanong kita, who gave you the order?" Dela Rosa said.

"Still sir, I take my orders from the chief of the Philippine National Police." Torre replied.

"So Chief PNP, you gave the order to have former president Duterte board the plane?" dela Rosa asked.

"I think that from the very beginning, the DOJ's advice was sought on every step of the way. We gave the clearance to serve the warrant of arrest," Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.

"I am asking them because they are on the ground. Sila ang nag-implement doon. Kaya Chief PNP  You give the order to the CIDG?" Dela Rosa said.

"The order to the CIDG is really to assist the PCTC when it comes to arrest po." PNP Chief PGEN. Rommel Francisco Marbil said. "It's always the guidance that ang ano po namin is really to assist the PCTC po."

Philippine Center on Transnational Crime Executive Director Anthony Alcantara denied it as well.

"Mr. Senator, Madam Chair, I've said from time to time that my mandate is to coordinate our law enforcement agencies to comply with the requirement of the Interpol." Alcantara added. "For the record, I am not the authority to order the arrest. To order the boarding of the plane."

"Categorically, did you or did you not give the order to General Marbil?" Dela Rosa said.

"No," Alcantara said.

"No? So General Marbil, are you lying?" Dela Rosa asked prompting the PNP chief to invoke executive privilege.

"Sir, I'm not lying but  I just want to have the executive privilege regarding this matter," Marbil said.

"Eh nandito na tayo, executive privilege ka diyan," Dela Rosa said.

"Bakit naging executive privilege" Senator Imee Marcos said.

"Kanina sinabi mo PCTC nag bigay ng order ngayon mag executive privilege ka," dela Rosa said.

"Kung sino-sino na tinuro mo," Marcos said.

"That's why we didn't want to attend the last hearing because this is what we were expecting, ma'am. We didn't want to be bullied," Remulla said.

"No, we're not bullying you, sir," dela Rosa said.

"I think that you're trying to make people admit something that they will not admit. And executive privilege is a valid excuse not to answer any questions," Remulla said.

"We are not bullying you, sir. We want the truth," Dela Rosa explained.

"That's why, if we try to make a person admit something that should not be admitted, it means that there is something more to it, which is, clearance given by the DOJ was probably the most important part of it to serve the warrant of arrest and to surrender the person under the law" Remulla explained.

Remulla ended up taking responsibility for the order to fly Duterte to the Hague.

"Ano nga yan, Ma'am, Sabi ko nga, clinear namin lahat yan. Kasi they were asking me the legalities. Even if I was abroad, even if I was abroad, my advice was being sought. And I gave them the advice. Number one, serve the warrant of arrest and Number two, surrender him to the Hague, That's what the law provides."

Earlier in the hearing, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Sevilla Azcuna said surrendering Duterte to the ICC without going through the local court may have violated Section 17 of Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

That law states that the authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court, if any, or to another State pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties.

Azcuna said that the country, under Duterte, already withdrew from the ICC.

Remulla however explained that this only applies to extradition, which was not the case as Duterte withdrew the country from the ICC.

The hearing also tackled the answers of Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Markus Lacanilao on the arrest and turn-over of Duterte to the ICC.

Lacanilao replied with "do not know" on the question about the date, time and location of the appearance of the arrested person before the competent national judicial authority.

Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon attributed it to an inadvertence. 

Remulla argued that the ICC may view the Prosecutor General as a competent authority because the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor is under the ICC.

He added that the document is a pro forma document for extraditions, and some of its questions may not apply.

Duterte was arrested on March 11  on his arrival from Hong Kong at the request of the ICC as part of its probe into his "war on drugs" that defined his presidency.

The ICC warrant for Duterte's arrest said that as president, the 80-year-old Duterte allegedly created, funded, and armed death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.

He was brought to The Hague in the Netherlands on the same day he was arrested.

Duterte on March 14 appeared via video link before ICC judges. He is set to attend a September 25 hearing to confirm the charges against him.