PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. reiterated that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction to investigate the illegal drug war led by the previous administration of Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
He emphasized the efficiency of the country’s judicial system and its capability to handle such cases.
President Marcos made these remarks during a media interview in Taguig City in response to a resolution from lawmakers urging the government to cooperate with the ICC for the investigation.
PBBM asserted that it is not appropriate for foreigners to dictate who the Philippines should investigate, arrest, or detain in relation to its police operations.
He argued that Filipinos, specifically the Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), are fully capable of conducting such investigations.
“For me, it’s simple. The issue is straightforward. It probably isn’t right for outsiders, foreigners, to dictate who our police will investigate, who they will arrest, or who they will detain,” according to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
Marcos has consistently stated that the Philippines will not cooperate with the ICC, especially since its withdrawal from the Rome Statute a few years ago.
“Well, this is not unusual. It’s really a sense of the House resolution and the sense — they are just expressing or manifesting the sense of the House that perhaps it’s time to allow or to cooperate with the ICC investigation. But as I have always said, there are still some problems in terms of jurisdiction and sovereignty,” President Marcos added.
Regarding the possibility of the Philippines rejoining the ICC, President Marcos stated that they are studying the matter.
“There is also a question: Should we return under the fold of the ICC? So, that’s again under study. So, we’ll just keep looking at it and see what our options are” he added.
PBBM’s stance against ICC should be supported by the legislature—Atty. Panelo
Meanwhile, Former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo expressed his views on President Marcos’s recent statement regarding the ICC.
Atty. Panelo stated that President Marcos’s remark aligns with the constitution
He also stressed that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Philippines since the country officially withdrew as a member.
“The last statement of PBBM that it’s not right for any foreign country to dictate on whom we will file charges against for unlawful acts or for any of them to investigate and prosecute Filipinos or put them to trial for such violations — is unequivocal and consistent with his off repeated pronouncement, which is constitutionally correct, that the ICC has no jurisdiction over our country having officially withdrawn as a member of the ICC,” according to Atty. Salvador Panelo, Former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel.
The Former Chief Presidential legal counsel further described President Marcos’s reference to studying the House resolution as a respectful and diplomatic response.
He also said that the ICC’s attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Philippines are not only an insult but also an attack on the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“ICC’s insistence and attempts at intruding into the internal affairs of the country, not only is an insult to our country, as correctly postulated by Vice-President Sara Zimmerman Duterte, but an assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines,” Atty. Panelo added.
As the President is the chief architect of foreign policy, Atty. Panelo argued that the legislature should support the position of BMM.
“Having made repeated pronouncements on the absence of jurisdiction by the ICC over our country, it behooves the legislature as another branch of government to support the official position of the President,” Panelo said.
Atty. Panelo cautioned that failure to do so would portray the legislature as being in conflict with the executive branch on the international stage.
