THE Department of Justice (DOJ) maintained on Monday that it will not allow any investigation that the International Criminal Court (ICC) might conduct in the event it decides to reject the Philippine government’s appeal against the resumption of its probe into the bloody anti-illegal drug campaign during the Duterte administration.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, in an interview with mediamen, said Philippine authorities will also not comply if the ICC issues warrants of arrest against individuals subject of its investigation.
“No. They won’t do anything here. They have nothing to do here. What are they going to do? Invade us? Do they want to come here just like a colonizer?” Remulla said.
“We do not want other countries interfering with the justice system in the Republic of the Philippines … It’s enough. We are a free country, we have our own system of implementing our laws,” the DOJ secretary added.
Earlier, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said if the Philippines loses its appeal, the ICC prosecutor will be authorized to resume his investigation into the anti-drug war situation in the country.
The ICC prosecutor, according to Guevarra, may also seek the issuance of summonses or warrants of arrest against certain individuals.
Those who will be indicted, according to the chief government counsel, would have to get their own defense lawyers as the OSG represents only the State.
“Regardless of the outcome of our appeal, the Philippine government will continue to focus on its own investigation and prosecution of alleged abuses in connection with the war on drugs,” Guevarra said.
However, Guevarra maintained that the government “will defend and assert the sovereignty of the Republic at all times.”
For Remulla, any indictment of the ICC would only be “political.”
He said if the ICC really wants to hold accountable any individual, then it should pass any evidence to the government since the Philippines has existing domestic mechanisms to deal with the issue and prosecute any offender.
He said the ICC should do its investigation on countries with no existing mechanism to conduct their own probe, adding that Manila has a perfectly working institution to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses.
“The ICC is for countries with no existing laws and they are really needed there. It is not meant to interfere in a country such as the Republic of the Philippines that has an existing system,” he said.
Earlier, the DOJ said investigation on the drug war-related deaths is ongoing, and that there are 290 cases under different stages of investigation, prosecution, and trial.
In March 2023, the Philippine government asked the ICC-Appeals Chamber to abandon the January 26 decision of the Pre-Trial Chambers (PTC) authorizing the resumption of the investigation on the abuses and deaths related to the anti-illegal drug of the Duterte administration.
The OSG maintained that the ICC has lost jurisdiction over the country following the withdrawal of its membership in 2019 upon the directive of then President Duterte.
It also asked the ICC to suspend, pending the resolution of its appeal, the implementation of the PTC’s decision that allowed Prosecutor Karim Khan to resume the probe in the Philippine’s bloody anti-illegal drug campaign.
However, this was denied by the appeals chamber in a ruling issued on March 28, 2023. The ICC’s decision on the Philippine government’s appeal is scheduled to be announced today (Tuesday).