Sen. Bong Go reiterated his strong stance against the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the alleged crimes committed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war. He stressed that the ICC has no jurisdiction to interfere in internal matters of the country which has a strong and independent judicial system.
“Probes into the war on drugs are presently being conducted by competent authorities. Ibig sabihin, may tiwala naman po ako sa ating local judicial system at ang mga Pilipino should be judged by fellow Filipinos before Philippine courts operating under Philippine laws,” Go said in an interview on July 24.
He likewise expressed the view that Filipinos are the ones best placed to assess whether they feel safer now than before the campaign against illegal drugs started.
“Alam n’yo, ang Pilipino po ang dapat humusga kung mas nagiging ligtas ba sila kumpara noong hindi nasimulan ang kampanya laban sa iligal na droga,” Go pointed out.
“Sila po ang nakakaalam kung nakakalakad ba sila, ‘yung mga anak nila nang ligtas at hindi nababastos at nasasaktan,” he added.
Go further emphasized that the era when the country had to be dictated by foreigners on how to govern itself has long been over.
“At tapos na po ‘yung panahon na kailangan pa tayong diktahan ng mga banyaga kung paano natin pamamahalaan ang ating mga sarili,” stressed Go.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said that his administration would terminate further interaction with the ICC. This comes after the court dismissed the government’s appeal to halt the investigation into the alleged human rights abuses during Duterte’s “war on drugs”.
“That’s it. We have no appeals pending. We have no more actions being taken. So, I suppose that puts an end to our dealings with the ICC,” Marcos said.
“We’re done talking with the ICC. Like what we have been saying from the beginning, we will not cooperate with them in any way, shape, or form,” he added.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla backed Marcos’ decision, and said that no Philippine representative would attend the international tribunal’s proceedings. Remulla criticized the ICC for disrespecting Philippine sovereignty.
Go expressed gratitude to Marcos for his decision, saying, “Nagpapasalamat rin po ako sa ating mahal na Pangulong Bongbong Marcos… sa sinabi niya po na his administration would end further engagement with the International Criminal Court after it rejected the Philippine government’s appeal.”
He also pointed out that the country had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute during the term of Duterte.
“So, kumbaga nag-withdraw naman tayo sa ICC noon pang panahon ni Pangulong Duterte. So, para po sa akin, ang Pilipino po ang dapat humusga sa ating kapwa Pilipino,” he said.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, back in March 2018, following the ICC prosecutor’s launch of a preliminary examination into the drug war. The withdrawal took effect the following year.
The Philippine government argued that the ICC had no jurisdiction over the country and maintained that the alleged crimes should be investigated by local authorities, invoking the principle of complementarity.