(Interaksyon) MANILA— The Philippines will pursue its appeal questioning the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) jurisdiction and authority to investigate killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’, its top lawyer said on Wednesday.
The remarks come after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said last month he would cut off contact with the ICC after it rejected the government’s request to suspend a probe into thousands of killings during the brutal anti-narcotics campaign.
“The appeal will not be withdrawn. We’ll pursue it,” Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, who was justice minister under Duterte, told Reuters.
Guevarra said the president’s remarks meant the Philippines will “disengage with the ICC after exhausting our legal remedies within the framework of the Rome Statute”.
The ICC, a court of last resort, approved in September 2021 a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity allegedly committed under Duterte’s leadership, but it suspended its probe in November 2021 at the request of Manila which said it was carrying out its own investigations… Read More
