'Bato' slams ICC actions

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa believes the actions of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) are less about seeking justice and more about "controlling their member states."

Dela Rosa raised the idea in response to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla’s recent statement suggesting that the Philippine government might engage with the ICC to discuss areas of cooperation amid the ongoing investigation into the Duterte administration’s drug war.

The senator criticized the ICC’s insistence on probing the anti-illegal drug efforts of the previous administration despite the Philippines' withdrawal from the international tribunal.

“Go ahead with whatever they want. We can't control them. If they want to engage, fine, go ahead. As for me, I firmly believe that the ICC has no jurisdiction over our country,” he said.

“If you come here, ICC, we will go to the Supreme Court. We will seek judicial relief to determine if the ICC truly has jurisdiction here,” he added.

Dela Rosa pointed out the dissenting opinion of two ICC Appeals Chamber judges, who argued that the request for investigation authorization was filed after the Philippines had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

“It was very clear, when they asked permission, when the prosecutor asked permission from our court to conduct an investigation, our withdrawal was already effective. So it was very clear that they no longer have jurisdiction,” Dela Rosa said.

He then reiterated that he would not entertain any requests from the ICC, as doing so would be equivalent to recognizing their jurisdiction over the Philippines.

“Leave us alone. We can do our job here,” he said.

The ICC earlier stated that the Philippines' efforts to investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes against humanity "were not satisfactory.”

Hence, the push for the resumption of its investigation into the previous administration's drug campaign and the alleged killings of the Davao Death Squad when former President Rodrigo Duterte was still a mayor of Davao City.

Aside from Duterte, the ICC report also mentioned Dela Rosa and Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, who were implicated in the killing incidents. Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police during the Duterte administration, while Go served as the former president's aide.

Dela Rosa, often called the chief architect of the bloody drug war, remained unfazed by the ICC’s insistence.

Despite the criticisms against the drug war, he emphasized that the anti-narcotics campaign "was successful," pointing to the surrender of 1.6 million drug users and the arrest of around 300,000 individuals.

“Many people are saying they are grateful for the war on drugs because their environment is now safer. So, for us, it’s a great success,” Dela Rosa said.