(THE MANILA TIMES) SENATORS on Thursday, April 13, slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) for rejecting a Philippine government appeal against its investigation into alleged human rights violations by the past Duterte administration during its anti illegal drug campaign.
“No one can tell us how to run our country and undermine our judicial system, especially a treaty-based international organization in which the Philippines is no longer a state party,” Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Ejercito Estrada said.
As an independent nation, sovereignty resides in the Filipino people, Estrada added.
“I stand by our government’s position that we have the first responsibility and right to prosecute crimes committed within our territory,” he stressed.
Estrada pointed out that the ICC’s insistence on investigating the war on drugs of the Duterte administration is disrespectful of our sovereignty and undermines our judicial system.
“It may only exercise jurisdiction where the national legal systems fail to do so which was not and continues to be not the case insofar as our domestic institutions are concerned,” he said.
Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said it is the ICC that is violating Article 1 of the Rome Statute on complementarity.
He emphasized that the justice system is very much alive in the Philippines.
“Article 1 says if the government is not capable or not willing to conduct an investigation then the ICC shall come in. In that case the ICC itself violated Article 1,” he pointed out.
Asked if he would cooperate with the ICC, dela Rosa said he could not cooperate since the Philippine government itself refuses to cooperate.
”What does it make of me if I cooperate, that I am an unruly child? It does not look good,” he added.
The ICC wants to investigate former president Rodrigo Duterte and other ranking government officials linked to the controversial drug war.
Dela Rosa was then the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the Duterte administration.
He had asked fellow senator, Francis Tolentino, to be his lawyer should he be arrested while abroad on orders of the ICC.
Asked if Tolentino would be his lawyer should he be arrested in the Philippines, dela Rosa replied: “So far we are not expecting that scenario to happen because there is no case filed against me. If worse comes to worst, Tolentino will defend me,” he added.