MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Manny Pacquiao on Friday said he would not impede the investigation of the International Criminal Court against President Rodrigo Duterte should he win in next year's elections.
The ICC's pretrial chamber has begun a full probe into the supposed crimes against humanity on Duterte administration's bloody anti-illegal drug campaign that has seen thousands killed since 2016.
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Malacañang has vowed it will not cooperate and said no member of the international body would be allowed entry to the Philippines to gather information on the case.
"We respect the investigation of the ICC," Pacquiao told ANC's "Headstart" where he made an erroneous claim that the country is still part of the tribunal.
Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC in 2019 after then special prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initiated a preliminary examination into claims of extrajudicial killings under the president's drug war.
"We will not be against that because that is their right as we are a member of the international community," Pacquiao added. "We should respect their process."
The presidential aspirant was asked if that meant he would allow Duterte to be jailed if he succeeds him next year.
To which, Pacquiao only said: "When it comes to that, we respect the investigation of the ICC."
For most of his years as senator under the Duterte administration, Pacquiao has been a close ally of the president.
But things fell apart for the two this 2021, which led to the ruling party PDP-Laban to also split.
As a result, Pacquiao will be eyeing the presidency under his own faction of the party, while there is another of Duterte led by his Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
Stance on the drug war
How did Pacquiao's view of Duterte's crackdown on illegal drugs changed over the course of time?
In 2017, he said it was unfair for the Philippine National Police that only deaths from the drug war were being put on spotlight, when many as well have surrendered.
The year after that, Pacquiao, who has long claimed he is "pro-life," told students of Oxford University in the United Kingdom that there are no EJKs in his country.
Pacquiao has also supported returning the death penalty as capital punishment — through firing squad — for drug lords and pushers. — Christian Deiparine