As far as the Philippines is concerned, we are done with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. made the remark on Friday in reaction to the move of the ICC to pursue the investigation by its prosecutors into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Marcos noted the ICC rejected the appeal of the Philippine government questioning the jurisdiction of the investigation.
“That’s it. We have no more appeals pending. We have no more actions being taken. So, I suppose that puts an end to our dealings with the ICC,” Marcos said.
“So, we continue to defend the sovereignty of the Philippines and continue to question the jurisdiction of the ICC and their investigations here in the Philippines,” he added.
In an interview at the sidelines of the inauguration of the Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project (IGCMRSP) in Zamboanga Peninsula, President Marcos said the Philippine government will not cooperate with any investigation that the ICC will conduct in the country.
Marcos emphasized that the ICC has no longer jurisdiction over the Philippines since it already cut its ties with the tribunal on 17 March 2019, a year after Duterte ordered the Philippines’ termination of the Rome Statute that created the ICC as former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda continued with the preliminary examination.
“They (ICC prosecutors) are talking about Filipinos. Their alleged crimes are here in the Philippines; the victims are Filipino; bakit mapupunta sa The Hague? Kaya’t dito,” Marcos said.
“Basta tapos na lahat ng ating pag-uusap sa ICC. At kagaya ng sinasabi namin mula sa simula, we will not cooperate with them in any way, or form,” he added.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the engagement of the Philippines with the ICC has come to an end with the rendition of judgment by the ICC Appeals Chambers.
He said the Philippines will instead focus on its own investigation and prosecution of crimes related to the anti-drug campaign.
