Marcos: ICC a threat to PH sovereignty

Says govt will not ‘lift a finger’ to help in drug war probe

PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said his administration will neither cooperate nor help the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation into the bloody campaign against illegal drugs of the Duterte administration as he reiterated that the international body has no jurisdiction over the country.

“We do not recognize your (ICC) jurisdiction. Therefore, we will not assist in any way, shape, or form, any of the investigations that the ICC is doing here in the Philippines,” Marcos said in an interview at the sidelines of the launching of the Lung Transplant Program of the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City.

“Let me say this for the 100th time, I do not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC in the Philippines. I do not, I find, I consider it as a threat to our sovereignty,” Marcos said.

The President made the statement following the disclosure of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV that ICC investigators visited the Philippines last month to gather evidence related to its probe on the alleged human rights abused committed by the police in the implementation of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against illegal drugs.

Trillanes has said that the ICC is supposedly set to issue arrest warrants against the former president and the other personalities named in the charge sheet, including former police chief and now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who challenged Malacañang on Monday to reveal to the public its real position on the issue.

Marcos said that as ordinary individuals, ICC representatives are free to visit the country, but the government will “not lift a finger to help any investigation that the ICC conducts.”

“As ordinary people, they can come and visit the Philippines pero hindi kami tutulong sa kanila. In fact, binabantayan namin sila, making sure that hindi sila – that they do not come into contact with any agency of government (As ordinary people, they can come and visit the Philippines, but we will not help them. In fact, we are monitoring them, making sure that they do not – that they do not come into contact with any