The Philippines “will not be deterred” by the ruling of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to resume its probe on alleged killings during the illegal drugs operations of the administration of then President Rodrigo R. Duterte. In a press statement, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), the government’s law office, said it is “disappointed” in today’s judgment. It also said: “The majority decision does not alter the fact that the Republic, through the various national and local agencies, remains fully committed to the internal investigation and prosecution of allegations connected to the anti-illegal drug campaign.  The Philippine Government will not be deterred by today’s outcome.” The ICC’s Appeals Chamber rejected the Philippines’ appeal to stop the illegal drugs probe in a 3-2 vote handed down on Tuesday, July 18, at The Netherlands. With its ruling, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor can resume its probe which was stopped in November 2021 on appeal of the Philippine government. Full text of the OSG’s press statement: “The Office of the Solicitor General is disappointed in today’s judgment issued by the Appeals Chamber of the ICC. By a split 3-to-2 decision, the Appeals Chamber confirmed the Impugned Decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I entitled “Authorization pursuant to article 18(2) of the Statute to resume the investigation” of 26 January 2023, and in effect refused to recognize the Philippine Government’s primary and sovereign right to investigate serious crimes, in derogation of the complementarity principle so fundamental to the working of the international criminal justice system of which the ICC forms part. “Long after the Philippines ceased to be a state party to the Rome Statute, the Philippine Government chose to submit data to the Office of the Prosecutor and later, to the Pre-Trial Chamber, not out of any legal obligation but purely on the basis of comity, consonant with its assertion of sovereignty. “Its submissions bear out the internal investigation and prosecution activities undertaken so far by the Government connected to the anti-illegal drug campaign. “The Chamber’s majority conveniently brushed this aside and worse, they refused to consider the Philippines’ jurisdictional challenge on the ground that the Impugned Decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber is not a decision on jurisdiction. “But as correctly pointed out by the Chamber’s minority, which included the Presiding Judge no less, the issue of jurisdiction is properly raised before the Appeals Chamber because the Pre-Trial Chamber’s finding on jurisdiction is an integral part of the Impugned Decision. “The established principle of international law dictates that the Court must satisfy itself of its own jurisdiction and this power to determine its own jurisdiction exists regardless of whether the Court is called upon to exercise this power or not. “The minority also strongly pointed out that the Rome Statute is a treaty and ‘that it is a fundamental right of States to decide whether they want to be bound by a treaty or not.’ “It therefore found that the Philippines’ withdrawal before the Court’s authorization was requested and secured, was a valid exercise of a state prerogative, and divests the Court of jurisdiction. “The majority decision does not alter the fact that the Republic, through its various national and local agencies, remains fully committed to the internal investigation and prosecution of allegations connected to the anti-illegal drug campaign. The Philippine Government will not be deterred by today’s outcome.” Reports stated that at least 6,200 suspects were killed during the illegal drugs operations. But certain groups claimed that the death toll could be more than 12,000.