Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday said she admires the courage of the former security personnel of resigned Ako Bicol Party-List Representative Zaldy Co, who recently spoke out on matters they claimed to have personal knowledge of.

“What they did was extraordinary, as they risked their lives to bring out the truth,” Duterte said in a statement.

Duterte said she had long been aware of information regarding alleged coordination between certain Philippine officials and investigators from the International Criminal Court.

She said she wrote President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to formally seek the administration’s position on the matter, noting that the President had earlier declared that the government would not cooperate with the ICC “in any way, shape, or form,” which she described as a categorical recognition that ICC actions are viewed as a violation of Philippine sovereignty.

According to the Vice President, the testimonies of Co’s former security personnel reinforced her previous warnings to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and to Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa about the alleged presence of the ICC in the country, including events related to what she described as the kidnapping of her father.

“This information cannot be taken lightly or ignored,” she said.

Duterte stressed that the issue goes beyond politics.

“This is not a political issue, nor is it a simple clash of personalities. This is about primary principles of our national sovereignty and the limitation of interference by foreign institutions in our country's domestic affairs,” she said.

“Sovereignty is not a principle to be invoked when convenient and abandoned when expedient. Sovereignty should not depend on who benefits and should not shift with political winds,” she added.

“When we weaken the principle of sovereignty, we do not only affect one leader or one family. We affect the dignity of our country and the trust of our people in the institutions meant to protect them,” the Vice President said.

On Tuesday, 18 former members of the Philippine Marine Corps accused several individuals of allegedly receiving cash from Zaldy Co. They also alleged that Co and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV funded hotel accommodations for ICC investigators.

The former Marines further claimed they had delivered cash to the residence of President Marcos in Ilocos Norte.