President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. reiterated that the government will not help the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its probe of the previous administration’s drug war.

“I do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Philippines. I consider this as a threat to our sovereignty. Therefore, the Philippine government will not lift a finger to help any investigation it conducts,” Marcos told reporters.

He added that the ICC officials could visit the country as “ordinary people”.

Marcos said this after Senator Ronald Dela Rosa urged Marcos to reveal the truth about the presence of ICC investigators in the country.

Dela Rosa made this appeal in response to the claim of former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that ICC investigators had collected enough evidence against former President Rodrigo Duterte during their supposed visit to the Philippines in December last year so they could issue an arrest warrant “very soon”.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) debunked these claims, saying that they have not received any confirmation that ICC investigators have entered the country.

In a statement released Tuesday, it said: “Having withdrawn from the ICC, the Philippines has no legal duty to comply with any obligations or proceedings thereunder.”

“As of today, the DOJ has not received any official communication or confirmation regarding the presence of the ICC within the country. Specifically, the DOJ has not received any advisory from the DFA that the ICC has indeed entered the Philippines, a requirement that would trigger the interdepartmental coordination concerning developments that go to the very core of our sovereignty and the primacy of our Constitution and our laws,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS