Philippines: Unapproved probe into killings unacceptable

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine justice secretary says any investigation violating the country’s sovereignty by the International Criminal Court into the widespread killings of suspects during an anti-drug crackdown under former President Rodrigo Duterte would be “totally unacceptable.” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla spoke in reaction to a decision on Thursday by judges in The Hague-based court allowing a prosecutor to resume an investigation that was suspended in late 2021 after the Duterte government said it was already looking into the killings and argued that the ICC, a court of last resort, did not have jurisdiction. The ICC decision was welcomed by human rights groups and by relatives of mostly poor suspects killed in Duterte’s police-enforced crackdown.