President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday, November 6, that his administration's war against illegal drugs only sought to protect the Philippines.
President Duterte defended his anti-illegal drug campaign during the inauguration of the Siargao Island Sports and Tourism Complex, worth Php 630.2 million, and the Catangnan-Cabitoonan Bridge Three-Point Bridge System, worth Php 434 million.
"Everything, I did it for my country. Hindi ako nakinabang diyan, wala akong satisfaction diyan. Hindi ako nagkaroon ng pera ni singko sentimos diyan. I did it because I want to protect your children and their future," the President said during his speech.
"Hindi akin 'yan. Kayo lahat ang taong Pilipino ang nakinabang diyan, wala ako. Ginawa ko lang ang trabaho ko kasi ayaw ko nga masira ang bayan ko," he added.
President Duterte made the statement amidst the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the war against drugs in the Philippines, which has resulted in numerous deaths.
The Chief Executive insisted anew that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over him.
President Duterte said that he will not allow himself to be judged 'by white people in another place' outside of the Philippines
"If I go to prison, I go to Muntinlupa. If I am tried, I should be tried by a Filipino judge in a Philippine tribunal. And I should be prosecuted, like me when I was a fiscal, I should be prosecuted by a Filipino prosecutor," President Duterte stressed.
The Philippines formally withdrew from the ICC in 2019, a year after President Duterte ordered the scrapping of the Rome Statute, which established the international tribunal.
However, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said that the tribunal still has jurisdiction in alleged crimes that happened in the Philippines before severing its ties with the organization.
