MANILA — The Philippines backed away on Friday from President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat the day before to expel European ambassadors, his spokesman said, after apparently misunderstanding the source of criticism of his deadly drug crackdown.

The spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the group “falsely portrayed itself as an E.U. mission.”

After visiting the Philippines this month, the European liberal advocacy group Progressive Alliance issued a statement saying it was “extremely alarmed” over “gross human rights violations” and hinting that the European Union might tighten its terms of trade with the Philippines over its spotty rights record.

“For so long as the president has tolerated these interferences, he has decided that these must stop,” Mr. Abella said on Friday, “if only to preserve the integrity and dignity of our state.”

But as to whether the Philippines was forcing envoys to leave, he said, “We are not,” adding, “There’s no directive to do that.”