Metro Manila, Philippines— Vice President Sara Duterte said she respects President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to consider proposals for the Philippines to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We should respect the position of the president being the chief architect of foreign policy so ‘yun dapat ang position nating lahat [that should be the position of all of us],” Duterte, who also serves as Education chief, told reporters on Monday at the sidelines of a National Children’s Month event.
Meanwhile, the vice president maintained her stance against cooperating with the ICC in its probe into alleged abuses that occurred throughout her father’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“Pero [but] we will continue to reach out to the Department of Justice regarding our position on this matter,” Duterte said.
Last week, the president announced that his administration is studying the possibility of the Philippines rejoining the ICC, which could open the door for the ICC’s prosecutors to probe and prosecute former president Rodrigo Duterte.
His statement came after resolutions were filed at the House of Representatives urging the government to cooperate with the ICC
Reacting to the resolutions, the younger Duterte said allowing the ICC to probe her father’s anti-drug campaign would be an insult to the country’s judicial system.
The Philippines withdrawal from ICC took effect in March 2019, a year after a case was filed against then-President Rodrigo Duterte for his administration’s drug war.
In January, ICC’s pre-trial chamber authorized the resumption of the investigation into the controversial drug war in the Philippines under prosecutor Karim Khan.
The probe was put on hold following a deferral request from the Philippine government as it stands firm that the country has a legal system that can investigate the drug war.
CNN Philippines’ digital producer Syrah Inocencio contributed to this story.
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