MANILA- Should he win this year's elections, Panfilo "Ping" Lacson would allow investigators from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enter the country to look into the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

“Iyong ICC is a court of powerless. Who wouldn’t [I allow] that? Alam mo na ang sagot ko, Boy. Papayag ako,” Lacson said when asked by Boy Abunda how he will decide when the ICC requests to visit the Philippines to conduct a probe.

(The ICC is the court of the powerless... I would allow the ICC.)

The senator added that the Philippines has not reached the point of becoming a “narco-state."

When asked though where the drug war went wrong, he said the government went heavy on law enforcement but did not give attention to prevention and rehabilitation.

Lacson's running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III earlier said he also sees no problem with the ICC launching a probe against President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.

• READ: Sotto OK with ICC probe of PH drug war

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber in August gave its green light for the ICC Prosecutor to conduct a formal probe on the drug war killings in the Philippines, but suspended its probe in November as it assessed the country's request for a deferral of the investigation.

Malacañang has insisted it will not cooperate with any investigation on the war on drugs in the country.

• READ: Lacson in favor of rejoining ICC; Sotto pitches anti-drug strategy

Lacson had also said he is in favor of Philippines rejoining the Rome Statute.

— Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News

RELATED VIDEO

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv