Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa remained firm that he would not entertain any calls from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as this is tantamount to acknowledging their jurisdiction over the Philippines.
"Umalis kayo! Wala kayong pakialam dito sa amin. (Leave us alone! You have no business here with us) Leave us alone. We can do our job here," he said in a statement on Monday, January 27.
Dela Rosa expressed his belief that the ICC is not for the pursuit of justice, but about controlling their member-states.
The former national police chief-turned-lawmaker issued the remark after Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla's pronouncement on the ICC's investigation of former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.
In a Reuters report, Remulla said that they "will talk to them [ICC] soon in a very well-defined manner, in the spirit of comity. Some people are trying to bridge the divide to bring us together, so we can sit at one table."
This marks a shift in the administration's previous stance which has been firm that the Philippines has no intention to rejoin the ICC.
For Dela Rosa, this is very evident in the ICC's insistence to investigate despite the Philippines' withdrawal of membership from the international tribunal.
"Go ahead kung anong gusto nila. Hindi namin sila maco-control…Kung i-engage nila, sige lang, go ahead, basta ako, very solid ‘yung aking paniniwala na walang jurisdiction ang ICC sa ating bansa (Go ahead, let them do what they want. We can't control them... If they want to engage, that's fine, go ahead. As for me, I firmly believe that the ICC has no jurisdiction in our country)," the Mindanaoan lawmaker said.
"Pumasok kayo dito (You get in here), ICC. We will go to the Supreme Court, we will seek judicial relief kung talaga bang may jurisdiction ang ICC dito (if ICC really has jurisdiction here)," he added.
He noted the dissenting opinion of the two ICC Appeals Chamber judges that the request for authorization of an investigation was filed when the Philippines was no longer a party to the Rome Statute—a treaty that created the ICC.
"Very clear ‘yan na ‘yung kanilang ginawa na paghingi nila ng permiso, ‘yung prosecutor, paghingi nila ng permiso sa court na mag-conduct ng investigation, effective na ang ating withdrawal sa membership. So very clear, wala silang jurisdiction (It's very clear that when they asked for permission, the prosecutor, when they asked the court for permission to conduct an investigation, our withdrawal from membership was already effective. So it's very clear, they have no jurisdiction)," Dela Rosa said.
Dela Rosa is being implicated in the ICC investigation into Duterte's drug war as he served as the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the last administration.