Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 19) — Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros is urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the Duterte administration’s bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.
Hontiveros, a known critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte, welcomed the ICC’s decision to reject the Philippine government’s petition against the resumption of the probe.
READ: ICC to continue probe into Duterte’s drug war; court chamber junks PH appeal
“This is an important first step in achieving justice for the victims, the widows, and the orphans of the war on drugs,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
“My hope is that the President and the agencies of the Executive will cooperate with the investigation of the ICC so that true justice is obtained,” she added.The lawmaker also said that the Filipino people “are watching if he will put the country or his political alliance first.”Vice President Sara Duterte was the running mate of Marcos in last year’s national elections.In February, Marcos stressed that he “cannot cooperate” with the ICC, saying the Philippines “is a sovereign nation and we are not colonies anymore of these former imperialists.”
READ: Marcos on ICC: ‘I cannot cooperate with them’
Even before the ICC’s announcement on Tuesday, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said that the upper chamber would protect Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is among the accused in the investigation unless a local court issues an arrest warrant against the latter.
