Marcos: We won't cooperate with ICC probe on Duterte drug war

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Thursday maintained that his government will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation into the Duterte administration's brutal drug war.

"We are not cooperating with the ICC," Marcos told reporters in an ambush interview in Cavite. "That is the position of this government." 

During a hearing by the House Quad Committee (QuadComm) on Wednesday, former President Rodrigo Duterte dared the ICC to conduct an immediate investigation on his war on drugs, blamed for the deaths of thousands of individuals.

Marcos said the government will not stop an ICC probe following Duterte's remarks.

"Ngunit kung pumapayag siya (Duterte), makipag-usap siya or magpaimbestiga siya sa ICC, nasa kanya iyon. Wala na kami desisyon doon," he said.

(But if he himself wants to be investigated, it's up to him. It's not our decision.)

The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after The Hague-based tribunal began a probe into the Duterte administration's drug war.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin earlier said the government will not object if Duterte wants to surrender himself to the jurisdiction of the ICC. 

In the same interview on Thursday, Marcos said the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are already investigating Duterte-era drug war deaths.

"It is being done by the PNP and we are waiting for their findings. All of the testimony that was given yesterday will be taken in," he said.

"It will be assessed to see what is consequence of some of the statements made by former President Duterte that will result in a case being filed here. That is the responsibility of the Department of Justice," Marcos added.

Interpol

Marcos also reiterated Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s position that the Philippines has obligations to comply with International Police (Interpol) notices whether its actions are related to ICC or not.

“As Secretary Remulla has explained before, we have obligations to the Interpol. And we have to live up to those obligations,” he said.

For his part, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said cooperating with Interpol and the ICC are two different things.

“The first involves a legal duty; the second involves a political decision,” he said in a message to reporters.

Marcos maintained that his  administration is committed to pursuing justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings during the implementation of the drug war.

“We are always monitoring all of these things, because the question of extrajudicial killings has not yet been answered. Who is responsible? We had some of the mothers of some of the victims over there [in QuadComm probe], and up to now, I have not seen justice for the murders of their children,” Marcos said.

“It is the DOJ’s responsibility to examine all of the testimonies and see if those justify [filing] a case,” he added.

Based on government records, around 6,200 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration's anti-drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, say the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related slays. —with Joahna Lei Casilao/KBK, GMA Integrated News