Screenshot from Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s interview with Senate reporters. Screengrab / File photo
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa should not worry over the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the country’s war on drugs, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday.
“Certainly not. We believe that under the principle of complementarity, the ICC has absolutely no jurisdiction because our domestic courts and institutions are functioning,” Roque responded on ANC’s Headstart when asked if there is something to worry about.
“We even have an IHL [International Humanitarian Law] which I have drafted and lobbied through Congress and therefore any complainant for crimes against humanity should first file their complaint before the Philippine courts because the principle of complementarity says that we do not surrender our sovereignty and our jurisdiction and that the court of first instance should still be Philippine courts,” he added.
Dela Rosa was at the helm of the Philippine National Police when President Rodrigo Duterte launched the bloody anti-illegal drug campaign.
In September, the ICC pre-trial chamber authorized the start of the investigation into the administration’s drug war killings.
Dela Rosa, a presidential aspirant in the 2022 elections, earlier said that should he win the highest post in the country, he would not allow the ICC probe to carry on.
Duterte, for his part, recently noted that there is another side of the drug war that critics failed to see and these are the victims of the alleged criminals.