President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he would not allow the International Criminal Court to investigate former president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war due to the lack of sufficient answers regarding the court's jurisdiction in the country.

In an interview with Palace reporters in the Metropolitan Theater on Tuesday, Marcos Jr. emphasized that his position is not about the potential evidence the ICC might present regarding the war on drugs, but rather a matter of national sovereignty.

"It opens a pandora's box. "It's still those questions of jurisdiction and sovereignty. I haven't yet seen a sufficient answer for it," Marcos Jr. declared.

He further explained that this lack of clarity leads him to the "logical conclusion" of not recognizing the ICC's jurisdiction.

When asked if new evidence could sway his position, the president remained firm. "No. It's not about the evidence. It's about the jurisdiction."

Responding to a question about his approval of the ICC, Marcos Jr. clarified that he neither approves nor denies their actions. However, he emphasized that the Philippines remains an open country and will take action if any illegal activities occur.

"They haven't done anything illegal; once they do, of course, we will do something about it, but they, we are an open country; we are not a closed country."

According to a recent survey, 55 percent of adult Filipinos supported the government collaborating with the ICC probe into the Duterte administration's drug campaign.

However, Marcos said since last year that he is not going to cooperate with the ICC. He also called the ICC a threat to Philippine sovereignty.

Duterte pulled the Philippines' membership out of the Hague-based ICC's Rome Statute in 2018, with the withdrawal taking effect in 2019, after the tribunal began a preliminary probe into his administration's drug war.