Malacañang welcomes suspension of ICC probe on drug war


Malacañang has welcomed the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to suspend its "investigative activities" on the Philippines' war against illegal drugs, which has become the signature of the current Duterte administration.

President Rodrigo Duterte (Malacañang photo)

"We welcome the judiciousness of the new ICC prosecutor, who has deemed it fit to give the matter a fresh look," Cabinet Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a statement Saturday, Nov. 20.

"We reiterate that it is the position of the Philippine government that the International has no jurisdiction over it," he noted.

But the ICC's probe on the bloody drug war has weighed heaviy on the mind of President Duterte. Last October, he even said that he would prepare his defense for the case following his retirement from politics.

Reports said that the suspension of the investigation came "following a request from the government". Nograles confirmed this.

According to him, the government is not precluded from communicating with the ICC, and "It should be stressed that the government's communication to the ICC was conditioned on the fact that in making that communication, the Philippine government was not waiving its position regarding the ICC's lack of jurisdiction."

"We trust that the matter will be resolved in favor of the exoneration of our government and the recognition of the vibrancy of our justice system," the Cabinet Secretary said.

Duterte has since decided to run for senator in the May 2022 elections, thereby potentially postponing his supposed retirement from politics.