THE International Criminal Court (ICC) cannot intervene in issues concerning the Philippines, particularly on the country’s fight against illegal drugs, Malacañang said on Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella maintained that “no concrete evidence” showed that the killings of suspected drug personalities in the Philippines are state-sponsored.
He also cited that the Senate, in its findings on the investigation in the extrajudicial killing, cleared President Rodrigo Duterte and the administration from the drug-related deaths.
“The International Criminal Court cannot arbitrarily interfere in the domestic affairs of a sovereign country like the Philippines,” Abella said in a statement.
“There is no concrete evidence pointing to crimes against humanity here: such crimes must be widespread and systematically against a specific group. This element is absent in the Philippine situation. The Philippine Senate already absolved the President and there exists no such crime,” he added.
Abella made the statement following report by ABS-CBN News that Commission on Human Rights chair Chito Gascon said the ICC is closely monitoring the drug-related killings in the Philippines.
Duterte’s war on drugs has earned criticisms not only in the country but also in international community, as the number of alleged drug suspects killed continue to rise to thousands.
Malacañang, however, had insisted that the government is not tolerating the killings of people allegedly involved in illegal drugs. (SunStar Philippines)