REP. Edcel Lagman boldly claimed that if we believe in the rule of law, then we should cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in prosecuting former president Rodrigo Duterte on the allegations that he committed crimes in connection with the drug war his government pursued.

On the contrary, Lagman conveniently forgot the very spirit of the Rome Statute. The ICC operates under the principle of complementarity, where it is designed not to replace but only to complement national justice systems. As such, the ICC acquires jurisdiction only when the prevailing justice system does not have provisions to prosecute the crimes alleged or when, despite the existence of such, it is unable or unwilling to prosecute.