Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman (left), Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. (Facebook)

Veteran members of the House of Representatives continue to make the case for letting the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate the previous Duterte administration’s bloody war against illegal drugs. 

Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., chairman of House Committee on Human Rights, believes that allowing the ICC entry into the country only shows transparency and will do good for our government. 

"By allowing ICC to come, it's telling the world na wala tayong tinatago dito (that we have nothing to hide here)," Abante stated. 

Abante said doing so would also showcase the functioning justice system within the country. 

“Gusto lang nating ipakita sa ICC at sa buong mundo na rin na gumagana ang ating justice system ( We just want to show the ICC and the entire world that our justice system is working)," said the pastor and former deputy speaker. 

Meanwhile, self-styled independent minority solon Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman argued that having ICC investigators in the country isn't a surrender of Philippine sovereignty, but an exercise of it.  

"If we believe in the rule of law, then we must let ICC come in," Lagman said. 

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Abante and Lagman filed earlier this month House Resolution (HR) Nos. 1477 and 1482, respectively. Both aim to get government cooperation for the ICC's probe on the war on drugs, which, according to who you ask, killed between 5,000 and 30,000 people. 

At any rate, Abante stressed that while the ICC should be allowed to investigate, they cannot prosecute anybody. 

“They can come in and investigate and even ask questions sa family of the victims pero (but) they cannot prosecute here,” he clarified. 

It was March 2018 when then-president Rodrigo Duterte ordered the withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute, which created the ICC.    

This, after ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that she would start a preliminary examination against Duterte in connection with complaints on his anti-drug campaign.