Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. still has the “final say” on the decision if the Philippines will cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe on the previous administration’s war on drugs.

This was Guevarra’s response to Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, chair of the House Justice panel, asking him if government agencies would still wait for Marcos’ decision if resolutions in the Congress would be adopted.

“Certainly, your honor. Because your resolutions urge the President to cooperate. So the final say of whether, in fact, the government will cooperate will be with the President. Yours is an expression of sentiment. That is how you feel about it. But that is not something that is binding. It all depends on the President whether he will grant your request that we cooperate,” Guevara told lawmakers.

A joint hearing of the House Committees on Justice and Human Rights was being conducted to tackle the resolutions calling on the government to cooperate with the international court’s investigation on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-illegal drug campaign.

The Commission of Human Rights (CHR) expressed that it was “more than willing” to cooperate, while the Philippine National Police (PNP), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and Department of Justice (DOJ) said they would wait for Marcos’ decision.

Guevarra reiterated that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines but clarified that the government was not preventing the ICC from continuing its probe.

“The government is just saying that because we have issues on jurisdiction that were not settled in that decision, you cannot expect us to cooperate,” he said.

The two panels adopted House Resolution (HR) 1447 authored by Abante and 1-Rider Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, in consolidation with HR 1393 by the Makabayan bloc and HR 1482 by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman. Jaspearl Tan/DMS