Philippines cuts ties with ICC over war on drugs investigation

The Philippines has cut off communication with the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it refused to suspend an investigation into the war on drugs, which has left thousands dead, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Tuesday.

"That ends all our involvement with the ICC," Marcos Jr told reporters after his government's appeal was rejected. "The appeal has failed, and in our view, there is nothing more that we can do. At this point, we essentially are disengaging from any contact, from any communication with the ICC."

Marcos Jr noted that his government has not been cooperating with the ICC in the case so far, but is merely commenting on the state of the procedure into the controversial anti-drugs campaign.

"We ended up in the same position that we started with, and that is we cannot cooperate with the ICC, considering the very serious questions about their jurisdiction, and about what we consider to be interference and practically attacks on the sovereignty of the republic," he said.

The war on drugs was launched by former president Rodrigo Duterte after he was elected president in 2016 after running an anti-crime campaign.

Police said more than 6,000 people were killed in operations against illegal drugs during Duterte's administration. But human rights groups have alleged that the death toll could be three times higher.

In March 2018, Duterte ordered the Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC after the court's chief prosecutor announced a preliminary examination on his war on drugs campaign. The withdrawal took effect on March 17, 2019.

The ICC, based in The Hague, is the first treaty-based permanent international criminal court and was created by the Rome Statute of 1998.