Former President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday surmised that the President "has nothing to do" with the International Criminal Court's investigation into the drug war waged by his administration from 2016 to 2022.

Talking with Davao City-based reporters, Duterte cleared his successor amid rumors that ICC personnel are already in the Philippines to investigate the claimed 20,000 to 30,000 people who were killed during the campaign.

Official Philippine National Police data only confirmed the drug-related death of about 7,000 people in "legitimate operations" conducted by state forces during the Duterte administration.

Duterte maintained the ICC has been interfering with the country's sovereignty for a long time, even before Marcos Jr. became the president.

"It is the f****** ICC interfering in our private affairs, in the sense that it intrudes into the sovereignty of the other countries. Marcos, I am not, in any way, dragging him into the picture. That ICC has been around for a long time," Duterte said.

"If there is anything that I did, it was because I did it for my country," he said, referring to his anti-drug campaign.

Duterte further added that he does not mind if ICC officials come to the country to investigate the killings during his administration.

"I don't care if they are here to stay, to investigate, to stay here forever, or to stay here for sightseeing. Tingnan ko lang kung what can they come up with, then sagutin ko sila (Let's see what they can come up with, and then I'll respond to them)," Duterte said.

When asked about the continuing drug problem in the country despite the bloody campaign during his administration, Duterte said it's everywhere. However, he said he's not that privy regarding the current situation.

Duterte withdrew the country's membership from the ICC in March 2019. However, the ICC began investigating Duterte's "war on drugs" in 2016.

The Philippines requested that the probe be placed on hold in November 2021. However, in July 2023, the ICC denied the nation's grounds for appeal after announcing in January 2023 that it would resume its investigation.

After Duterte ended his term in 2022, Marcos said the Philippines has "no intention" of rejoining the ICC.

But Marcos recently acknowledged that he's considering rejoining the court since certain politicians have asked the new administration to cooperate with the investigation.

Former Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque said in one of his newspaper columns last year that ICC agents had started visiting the Philippines.