Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa believes the actions of the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) are not truly about seeking justice but are “more on controlling their member-states.”
Dela Rosa raised this point in response to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla’s recent statement suggesting the Philippine government might engage with the ICC to discuss areas of cooperation amid the ongoing investigation into the Duterte administration’s drug war campaign.
The senator criticized the ICC's persistence in investigating the anti-illegal drug initiatives of the previous administration, despite the Philippines’ withdrawal of membership from the international tribunal.
“Go ahead kung anong gusto nila. Hindi namin sila maco-control…Kung i-engage nila, sige lang, go ahead, basta ako, very solid ‘yung aking paniniwala na walang jurisdiction ang ICC sa ating bansa (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),” Dela Rosa said.
“Pumasok kayo rito, ICC. We will go to the Supreme Court, we will seek judicial relief kung talaga bang may jurisdiction ang ICC dito (if you have jurisdiction here),” he added.
Dela Rosa noted the dissenting opinion of two ICC Appeals Chamber judges, who argued that the request for investigation authorization was filed after the Philippines had withdrawn from the Rome Statute — the treaty that established the ICC.
“Very clear ‘yan na ‘yung kanilang ginawa na paghingi nila ng permiso, ‘yung prosecutor, paghingi nila ng permiso sa court na mag-conduct ng investigation, effective na ang ating withdrawal sa membership. So very clear, wala silang jurisdiction (It was very clear, when they asked permission, when the prosecutor asked permission to 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 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 previously stated that the Philippines' efforts to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes against humanity "were not satisfactory." Hence, it pushed for the resumption of its investigation into the Duterte administration's drug campaign and the alleged killings by the Davao Death Squad during Duterte’s tenure as mayor of Davao City.
The ICC report implicated not only former President Duterte but also Dela Rosa and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go in the killing incidents. Dela Rosa was the Philippine National Police chief during the Duterte administration, while Go was Duterte’s former aide.
Despite being labeled as the "chief architect" of the bloody drug war, Dela Rosa remained unfazed by the ICC’s actions. He defended the campaign, claiming its success in addressing the country's drug problem.
“Ang daming tao na nagsasabi na nagpapasalamat sa war on drugs dahil safe na ‘yung kanilang environment (Many are thankful for the war on drugs because it made for a safe environment). So, for us, it’s a great success,” Dela Rosa said.
He highlighted the surrender of 1.6 million drug users and the arrest of around 300,000 individuals as evidence of the campaign’s effectiveness.