MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on Friday said he would not interfere with the case of detained former Senator Leila De Lima after a hostage crisis renewed calls for her release.

De Lima on Thursday said that while she would "never ask" Marcos to interfere with the courts, he could "order DOJ to stop blocking the testimony" of a recanting prosecution witness and "to stop presenting obviously perjured witnesses."

"I think urging prosecutors to do one thing or another is interfering," Marcos said in a chance interview.

"I have said we are very, very clear that we have 3 departments of government at siguro naman hindi natin dapat — pabayaan natin, hindi naman natin dapat pinagdududahan ang process eh. I think the process is there, we are continuing to monitor what is going on," he added.

(We have 3 departments of government, we should not be doubting the process.)

De Lima was taken hostage by 3 detained Abu Sayyaf members who attempted to break out of Camp Crame on Sunday.

Marcos said he spoke to De Lima after the incident and offered to transfer her to another detention facility if she felt unsafe.

"Sabi naman niya, hindi naman siguro kailangan. She never asked me to do anything," Marcos said.

(She said perhaps it was not necessary.)

De Lima, a staunch critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was arrested on drug charges on February 24, 2017, after a long drawn-out public feud where the former leader accused her of immorality and collecting money from drug sources and vowed to destroy her.

The former senator, who lost a reelection bid in May, has always maintained her innocence, rejecting the cases against her as fabricated and a product of political persecution.

According to De Lima, Marcos is in the position to undo the "wrongs" inflicted on her by Duterte.

"You can reverse the grievous wrongs inflicted on me by your predecessor. Please, Mr. President. Salamat po," she said in a tweet on Thursday.

De Lima's camp said they were considering applying for home furlough over fears for her safety. Malacañang said it would not interfere with the possible furlough request.

• Marcos won't interfere with possible De Lima furlough request: Palace