Duterte says looming ICC probe 'doesn't worry me'

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on late Monday said he would want his successor to continue his flagship domestic policy war on drugs even if they would have a different approach, noting that he is worried about its resurgence as the end of his term nears.

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This comes after Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año reported that in the past week alone, authorities were able to intercept over P159 million worth of illegal drugs from their 1,230 operations.

"Ito bang drugs, I hope whoever would sit as president would continue the, if not the ferocity that I did, maski lang sana yung a little lower than my standard kasi talagang sisirain ang bayan na ito," Duterte said in his taped address to the nation.

"I am worried about the resurgence of the drug problem," he continued, narrating local killings supposedly done by illegal drugs users.

The killings made by these individuals, he said, is "simply driving me crazy."

He also said that he is not worried that the International Criminal Court (ICC) launches an investigation into his drug war.

The international tribunal suspended the probe last November "while it assesses the scope and effect of the deferral request" of the Philippine government."

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"Never mind the ICC, wala akong pakialam diyan. It doesn't worry me a bit," said Duterte.

"Itong sa drugs, I just hope that somebody, maybe kung hindi yung talagang presidente, would find the resolve to just continue with the drive against drugs because it will destroy our country."

Some presidential candidates have vowed to continue the President's war on drugs but with a different approach, noting the importance of rehabilitation for drug addicts.

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The Philippine government had repeatedly maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the President and the war on drugs because the country is no longer part of the ICC.

Rights groups who have lobbied for ICC to investigate the killings in the country have argued that the thousands killed under the war on drugs are more than enough to warrant an international probe — more than 6,000 based on official figures but more than 30,000 according to estimates of rights groups.

-- With a report from Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News

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