Following the deliberation of committees of the House of Representatives of resolutions calling on the government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation of her father’s war on drugs under the previous administration, Vice President Sara Duterte urged solons to respect President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s decision not to allow the international court into the country.

Three resolutions have been passed asking the government to cooperate with the ICC, the latest was filed by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

“Given this clear standpoint, we urge the House to respect the position of the President, who is the chief architect of our foreign policy,” Duterte said in a statement released Thursday.

“The President has likewise affirmed that his opinion is based on the fact that the ICC ceased to have jurisdiction over the Philippines upon the effectivity of our withdrawal from the Rome Statute on March 17, 2019,” she added.

According to the Vice President, allowing ICC prosecutors to conduct a probe on the supposed violations of human rights in the drug war “is not only patently unconstitutional but effectively belittles and degrades our legal institutions”.

“Let us not insult and embarrass our courts by showing that we believe only foreigners have the ability to give justice to our country,” she added.

Marcos has previously said that the Philippines will not cooperate with the ICC’s investigation.

“Any probe conducted by the ICC would be an intrusion into our internal matters, and a threat to our sovereignty… We are done talking with the ICC. Like what we have been saying from the beginning, we will not cooperate with them in any way, shape, or form,” Marcos said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS