Suspend probe into 'war on drugs,' Philippines tells ICC

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) — The Philippines on Wednesday asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend a probe on the country's so-called war on drugs.

"The prosecution's activities in furtherance of its investigations would lack any legal foundation and encroach on the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines," the top prosecutor's office of the Southeast Asian country said in a 51-page appeal to the ICC.

The ICC had in January resumed its probe into the controversial "war on drugs," launched by former Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, arguing that it was "not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the court's investigations on the basis of the complementarity principle."

The Office of the Solicitor General, however, asked the ICC tribunal's Appeals Chamber to suspend the investigation until the resolution of its submission, and to rule that the court's prosecution was not authorized to resume its probe.

If the international court proceeds "without jurisdictional basis," said the appeal, "its mandate would be adversely affected due to the implications such acts would have for those affected by the Court's operations, in particular suspects, witnesses and victims."

The "war on drugs" was launched in June 2016 under Duterte with large-scale campaign to arrest drug dealers and users, with police given the greenlight to kill criminals as part of the policy.

In 2018, Duterte announced his country's withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, effective March 2019. But the court said it "retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that occurred on the territory of the Philippines while it was a state party."

In September 2021, the ICC opened a probe into alleged crimes against humanity committed in Nov. 1, 2011-March 16, 2019, during the "war on drugs."

However, it halted the probe on Nov. 18, 2021, after objections were raised by Manila.

The ICC prosecutor, however, sought a revival of investigations on June 24, 2022.

Duterte has said he "would never allow foreigners to sit in judgment of him as long as Philippine courts are willing and able to do so."