The denial by the International Criminal Court on the appeal of the Philippine government to suspend its investigation into the Duterte government’s drug war has no binding effect, Senator Francis Tolentino said. The appeal, according to Tolentino, was a courteous assertion of Philippine sovereignty. “It will not clothe the ICC with jurisdiction, as there was none in the first place. ICC should recognize the fundamental pillar of the international legal order, which is sovereignty,’’ Tolentino said on Tuesday, March 28. Detained former Senator Leila de Lima, however, takes a different view. “Defenders of (former President) Duterte in the BBM (Bongbong Marcos) administration should now realize that the ICC is determined to enforce the Rome Statute so long as the Philippine government does not undertake a serious, in-depth and comprehensive investigation and prosecution of the masterminds of Duterte’s drug war killings,’’ de Lima said De Lima maintained that no amount of simulated investigations or the token prosecution of small fry would  fool the ICC into withdrawing its mandate insofar as taking jurisdiction over crimes against humanity committed in the Philippines is concerned. “The Philippine government should also stop spending government funds countering the ICC process as this only benefits those being investigated by the ICC, and not the Filipino people. The Solicitor General should just refer the international lawyer he hired to Duterte and let the former President foot the bill for his own defense, instead of spending public funds for the personal and private interest of Duterte,’’ she said. “The government should never take the cudgels for every public officer, let alone a former official, accused of committing criminal acts in the guise of defending Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction over the criminals. Let Duterte and his co-conspirators in the drug war face the music before the ICC. Be on the side of humanity. Be on the right side of history,’’ she added.