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The Philippines
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Philippines will not cooperate with ICC ‘war on drugs’ probe, Duterte lawyer says

  • The International Criminal Court has authorised a full investigation into possible crimes against humanity during the anti-narcotics campaign
  • But President Rodrigo Duterte’s government said the ICC does not have jurisdiction in the country after he pulled out of The Hague-based court

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s government insists the ICC does not have jurisdiction in the country. Photo: AFP
Agence France-Presse
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s probe into the country’s “war on drugs”, his lawyer said on Thursday, insisting the tribunal does not have jurisdiction in the country.
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ICC judges on Wednesday authorised a full-blown investigation into Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign, which rights groups estimate has killed tens of thousands of people, saying it resembled an illegitimate and systematic attack on civilians.

Duterte “will not cooperate since first of all, the Philippines has left the Rome statute, so the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the country”, chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo told local radio DZBB.

“The government will not let in any ICC member to collect information and evidence here in the Philippines. They will be barred entry.”

Duterte pulled Manila out of The Hague-based court after it launched a preliminary probe, but the ICC said it had jurisdiction over crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member.

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“The president’s position does not change. ICC is bent, at the inception, of proceeding with this case in violation of our constitution and defiance even of its own Rome statute,” Panelo said.

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