Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman (Screenshot from YouTube live)
 

Former senator Leila de Lima's acquittal from her drug charges shouldn't mean that the Philippines should be exempted from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with the previous Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs. 

Independent minority solon Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman made this contention Friday, June 28, amid the current Marcos administration's celebration of the acquittal as proof that the Philippine justice system "works". 

"Complementarity of a 'working justice system' cannot be invoked by the Philippines for exemption from the jurisdiction of the [ICC] in the case of the complaint for alleged crimes against humanity committed by Duterte and his principal cohorts," Lagman said in a statement. 

The Bicol solon argued that the acquittal of his party-mate De Lima didn't even come in a timely manner. 

"The much belated acquittal of former Senator Leila De Lima of all the Duterte-fabricated drug charges against her does not evince that the Philippine justice system is working for all drug offenders and victims," Lagman said. 

De lima was incarcerated in 2017 during Duterte's Palace tenure. 

"As long as former president Rodrigo Duterte, the principal instigator of the drug related extrajudicial killings is not indicted before the proper Philippine court, the Philippine justice system still fails to work for all the perpetrators and their victims," Lagman insisted. 

Lagman is president of the Liberal Party (LP).