The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday said the International Criminal Court (ICC) has yet to communicate with the agency regarding its investigation of the Philippine drug war.
In a Palace briefing, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos stated he has no idea about the ICC probe. “As far as our office is concerned… I have no knowledge about this, there is no communication with them, nothing at all,” he said.
Abalos also reaffirmed the agency’s alignment with President Ferdinand Marcos’ stance of non-cooperation with the ICC. “We will follow the lead of the President,” he said.
The government, under President Marcos, asserts its non-cooperation with the Hague-based tribunal’s investigation into the war on drugs during the previous administration.
President Marcos, emphasizing his refusal to acknowledge the ICC’s jurisdiction, deems it a potential threat to the nation’s sovereignty.
He has directed government agencies, including police personnel and local governments, not to cooperate with the ICC representatives.
In the event of an encounter with an ICC representative, Abalos assured that he would communicate the Philippines’ commitment to transparency.
He emphasized that, as a democratic nation, the Philippines adheres to all laws.
The ICC, in January 2023, authorized the reopening of the inquiry into the war on drugs, which had been suspended in November 2021.
Despite the government’s appeal against the resumption of the probe being denied by the ICC Appeals Chamber in July 2023, President Marcos, in November of the previous year, mentioned that the possibility of returning to the international tribunal was under consideration, recognizing the challenges surrounding the issue of jurisdiction.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019 during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, following the initiation of an ICC investigation into his administration’s drug war.