Chief Presidential legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday said he would "cause the arrest" of the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors if they come to the country to resume the probe into the bloody war against drugs.
He made the remark in a chance interview with the media during the Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028 forum held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay.
"If they will come here... If I were to be followed, I will cause their arrest because they interfere so much with our internal affairs," Enrile stressed.
As the lawyer of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., he said he would not allow the investigation to continue.
"We will not allow any of our officials to be investigated or tried by the International Criminal Court,” he said.
Enrile also said that as far as he is concerned, he would not "recognize the jurisdiction" of the chamber.
He also insisted that the chamber has no "power over the country" and that the country's judicial system is functioning.
On January 27, the ICC pre-trial chamber (ICC-PTC) approved the request of Prosecutor Karim Khan to resume the investigation into the human rights abuses and crimes during the Duterte administration's anti-drug campaign.
In the 42-page decision, the ICC-PTC said the country’s domestic initiatives and proceedings “do not amount to tangible, concrete and progressive steps being carried out with a view to conducting criminal proceedings, in a way that would sufficiently mirror the Court's investigation as authorized in the Article 15 Decision.”
The chamber also expressed dissatisfaction with how the government undertakes relevant investigations.
