November 24, 2023 3:05 AM EST
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stood by his position against an international probe on former leader Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, underlining his efforts to keep the ruling alliance intact.
“It’s not right for outsiders to tell us who to investigate, who the police will arrest or detain,” Marcos told reporters Friday. He was reacting to a proposal in the House of Representatives for the government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s investigation on Duterte’s anti-drug campaign that killed thousands.
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Marcos earlier this week tamped down speculation on cracks within the alliance that helped him and Vice President Sara Duterte secure landslide wins in last year’s elections. In the past months, however, the vice president has been distancing herself from Marcos’s cousin and key ally, House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The vice president and former leader’s daughter said in a statement Thursday that allowing the international court to probe her father is “patently unconstitutional” and “degrades our legal institutions.”
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Marcos, who earlier this year sought to cut contact with the international court, said Friday that his administration is studying if it should rejoin the tribunal.