KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malacañang disclosed on Sunday that any public remarks by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC) have no bearing on the court’s procedures, following the ICC’s rejection of a jurisdiction challenge raised by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s camp.

Duterte’s defense team had argued that the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute was completed before the ICC began any investigation into the country’s bloody war on drugs. They cited previous statements by Marcos reinforcing their claims that the ICC no longer had jurisdiction.

In response, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stressed that the ICC operates based on its founding document, not on political pronouncements.

“As far as we know, the ICC will base its decision, or order, or resolution on the Rome Statute and it will not be guided by the political statements,” Castro said. “So, if they use that, it will be up to the ICC how they will evaluate it, but as far as we know, they are not following or are not influenced by any political statements.”

Under ICC rules, a state’s withdrawal from the court does not affect matters that were already under consideration. The ICC had confirmed that the situation in the Philippines was “under consideration” before the country’s official exit from the international body.

Duterte’s legal team has announced plans to appeal the ICC’s recent decision.

Separately, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has expressed interest in looking into drug war cases that occurred during the Duterte administration.

Castro stressed that the Office of the Ombudsman is an independent constitutional body that does not take instructions from the Executive branch.

“The Ombudsman is an independent body, a constitutional body, so they do not have to report to the President what actions they will take to pursue public officials who may be guilty,” she said.

Castro added that while the Executive branch would provide assistance, such as data or reports, if requested by the Ombudsman, the president is not responsible for directing the Ombudsman’s actions.