Netizens react to Enrile’s call for arrest of ICC investigators coming to Philippines
Netizens are outraged over the latest political flexing from Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile.
On Monday, Enrile said that if it were up to him, he would move for the arrest of International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators coming to the Philippines to probe the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
“As the lawyer of the President, I will not allow, as far as I’m concerned, I will not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court of justice. They have no sovereign power over us. If they will come here… If I were to be followed, I will cause their arrest,” he told reporters during the sidelines of an event in Pasay City.
Enrile’s remarks came after the ICC authorized the resumption of its probe into the killings under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
Enrile’s comments sparked outrage among many netizens, who condemned Enrile’s role in human rights violations during the Martial Law years under then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos. It is believed that Enrile, who was the elder Marcos’s defense secretary at the time, jailed thousands during the brutal dictatorship.
It can be recalled that Enrile was charged with plunder in connection with a pork barrel scam but was released on bail in 2015 in view of his old age and poor health.
With the latest outburst from Enrile, netizens believe the former coup conspirator is hale and hearty enough to serve time behind bars.
