THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday vouched for a robust Philippine justice system as it backed President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s stance on not letting the International Criminal Court (ICC) meddle with the domestic investigation into excesses of the past administration’s anti-drugs war.
“The government’s stance has been consistent. The President has been very firm by saying we do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC because we have a well and robust justice system,” DoJ Assistant Secretary and Spokes-person Jose Dominic F. Clavano IV said in a Malacañang briefing.
“We’ve been consistent from the very start, we have a working justice system here in the Philippines, evidenced by a lot of different cases and reforms we’ve been undertaking,” he added.
These comments were made following an X post by former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV, who claimed he has credible evidence the ICC reached out to 50 active and retired police officers, investigating their connections with alleged extra judicial killings (EJKs) during the term of former president Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“Based on highly credible information, the ICC investigators have already directly communicated with more than 50 active and former PNP officials regarding their being implicated in the crimes against humanity case of Rodrigo Duterte at the ICC,” read Mr. Trillanes’s X post.
Meanwhile, Mr. Clavano said government officials were instructed not coordinate with the ICC investigation.
“When a government official is coordinating with the ICC against the directions or orders of the government, there may be accountability involved,” he said. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana