Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez





Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has advised the government to "be calm and face the music" regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the thousands of people killed during former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs. According to Rodriguez, who is a majority congressman, the government can raise the issue of jurisdiction later after the proceedings have begun. “The proper and only course of action of the Republic of the Philippines is to raise the issue of jurisdiction when the case is eventually filed in the ICC. Jurisdiction can be questioned at any stage of the proceedings," he said. In the meantime, Rodriguez urged concerned government officials to be calm and to study the decision well. “There is no need for our government officials to say many extraneous comments on the decision,” added the Mindanao lawmaker and former law dean. At any rate, Rodriguez expressed confidence that the international tribunal would eventually grant the country’s appeal for it to lay off its anti-drug war. “When the case is brought to the ICC, we raise the issue of jurisdiction and the Philippines will surely secure its dismissal for lack of jurisdiction,” he said. Duterte is the direct predecessor of incumbent President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. Rodriguez said that he agreed with the dissenting opinion of two of the five ICC judges who voted for granting the country’s request that the court stop its inquiry. Three judges rejected the plea. Rodriguez chairs the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments. He is considered one of the legal luminaries in the House of Representatives.