President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Wednesday maintained that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction over the Philippines as it remains to have a working judicial system and law enforcement mechanisms.
Marcos made the statement during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin as part of his three-day state visit.
According to the President, the ICC’s apparent intrusion into the Philippine judicial system is something that the government has to deal with.
"Well, there is now a conflict between – in terms of jurisdiction because, in our opinion, the ICC was created when a country has no judiciary, no functioning judiciary, no police force to enforce peace and order; enforce law," he said.
The Philippines formally cut ties with the ICC on March 17, 2019, a year after the country formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Rome Statute.
"As a matter of principle, it is very difficult for the Philippines to accept that an outside court will, shall I say, dictate to our policemen, ‘who they will investigate, who they will arrest and who will say, that hey, because we don’t need that advice’," Marcos pointed out.
The ICC has been probing the controversial war on drugs campaign of the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In the past, Marcos has repeatedly stated that it will not participate in the international court's investigation.
In the same meeting, Scholz asked Marcos about his approach against illegal drugs in the country compared to his predecessor, Duterte.
"It's a big problem, but our approach has changed significantly," the President said.
"I diametrically opposed to handling the drug problem in that way, by confrontation, by violence, and it really requires so much, more much deeper understanding on the problem and the much deeper solution. So, yes, I think that we are also progressing when it comes to that," he added.
