Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin 'Boying' Remulla on Friday called the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to resume the probe on the Duterte administration's bloody war against drugs campaign an "insult" to the country.
"They are insulting us... We as a country are doing what it takes to fix the system, and we have a fully functioning judicial system. Therefore, I don't see why they come in," he said during a press conference.
Remulla said the investigation of ICC is not welcome in the country.
"I will not welcome them here in the Philippines unless they make it clear that they respect us in this regard. I will not stand any of these antics that tend to question our sovereignty or our status as a sovereign country. We will not accept that," he added.
The Justice chief once again pointed out that the country is no longer a member of the ICC, and said he does not understand why it insists to resume the drug war investigation.
In March 2019, former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC.
On Thursday, January 26, the ICC pre-trial chamber (ICC-PTC) on Thursday approved the request of Prosecutor Karim Khan to resume the investigation into the bloody drug war.
In the 42-page decision, it said that the government failed to demonstrate that it has conducted a probe into the alleged killings in Davao and crimes committed in connection with the anti-drug campaign.
The chamber also expressed dissatisfaction with how the country undertakes the investigation.
