Former President Rodrigo Duterte has once again criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings that occurred during his administration’s drug war.
Duterte reiterated his refusal to acknowledge the ICC’s jurisdiction in the Philippines.
“What is this ICC? I do not recognize it. My first question is about jurisdiction. As a lawyer, jurisdiction matters. When I face a case in court, every day I ask myself: Do I have the power? Do I have jurisdiction over the case I am prosecuting?” Duterte said.
He made these remarks during the Basta Dabawenyo Program on Sunday, August 11, when asked if he would attend a hearing on extrajudicial killings if he were issued a subpoena.
He also said that there were killings that also occurred in other nations that the ICC had not yet acted on.
House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chairman Representative Robert Ace Barbers earlier said that the former president, along with former PNP chief Senator Bato Dela Rosa, were included in the list of individuals to be invited as resource persons.
Barbers said if they declined to attend, they have the right to decline the invitation.
Recently, Dela Rosa has said that he will not attend the inquiry to uphold inter-parliamentary courtesy between the Senate and the House.
