Marcos firm on not recognizing ICC jurisdiction over PH

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Tuesday stood firm on his stance that he will not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Philippines. 

In an ambush interview, Marcos was asked if his stance will change as regards the ICC following the survey result indicating that majority of adult Filipinos - 55% - were in favor of the government cooperating with the ICC probe into the drug war of the Duterte administration. 

''It opens a Pandora’s Box. It’s still those questions of jurisdiction and sovereignty. I haven’t yet seen a sufficient answer for it. Until then, I do not recognize their jurisdiction in the Philippines,'' Marcos said.

It was former President Rodrigo Duterte who pulled the Philippines out of the Hague-based ICC's Rome Statute in 2018, with the withdrawal taking effect in 2019, after the tribunal began a preliminary probe into his administration's drug war.

''No. It’s not about the evidence. It’s about the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Philippines. They could produce as much evidence as they want. But they could not act upon it in the Philippines, that is the point,'' Marcos  said.

Marcos also said in February last year that he would not cooperate with the ICC investigation. He also said that he considers the ICC a threat to Philippine sovereignty.. –VAL, GMA Integrated News