No way ICC can probe alleged PH crimes: Roque

MANILA – Malacañang is firm that the Philippines will not allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct investigations on the country’s internal affairs under its sovereign laws.

In his Palace press briefing on Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said only the Philippines can investigate criminal cases under its sovereignty.

Roque said ICC investigators have no jurisdiction to probe the administration’s anti-narcotics campaign since the Philippines officially withdrew its membership on March 17, 2018 from the Rome Statute that created the ICC.

“Tanging Pilipinas lang po ang pwedeng mag-imbestiga ng mga krimen na nangyari sa kaniyang teritoryo ngayong hindi na po tayo kasapi sa Rome Statute ng ICC (Only the Philippines is allowed to investigate crimes happening in its territory now that we are no longer part of the Rome Statute of the ICC),” he said, stressing that the Philippines is a sovereign and independent country.

Roque emphasized human rights victims and witnesses are not restricted from filing criminal charges against human rights violators, in cooperation with the ICC.

“Karapatan po nila iyan (It’s their right),” he said.

Roque noted that filing crimes against humanity should be widespread or systematic.

“So kinakailangan po talaga hundreds of thousands, thousands and thousands ang lilipad doon (If they really need to fly there (The Hague), they should be flying in hundreds of thousands, thousands and thousands),” he said.

He also urged human rights victims to file complaints before Philippine courts.

The process, he said, will take only 90 days.

“Lahat po ng ating mga kababayan na sa tingin nila ay nalabag ang kanilang mga karapatan, maghain po kayo ng reklamo natin sa piskalya dito po sa Pilipinas, at mabilis pong proseso iyan (Those who think their rights were violated, you can file complaints in the fiscal office here in the Philippines, that’s the speedy process),” he said.

Roque, however, cautioned that the process of issuing warrants of arrest against alleged perpetrators of the drug war, including President Rodrigo Duterte, will take time.

“Dahil kung titingnan ninyo po ang case load ng prosecutor, talagang taon po ang tinatagal ng mga kasong subjected for preliminary investigation at lalung-lalo na po kung walang kooperasyon sa estado, pupuwede pong matulog iyang kasong iyan (As we see the case load of the prosecutor, the cases subjected for preliminary investigation will take years, especially if there’s no cooperation from the State, and the cases could sleep) ‘til kingdom come),” Roque said.