The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is reopening investigations into former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.
The court suspended the investigation in November 2021 at the request of the Duterte government, which was still in office at the time.
However, the Criminal Court said it was not satisfied that the Philippines itself was conducting "relevant investigations that would justify postponing the court's investigations".
Till Fähnders
Political correspondent for Southeast Asia.
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The current government then announced that it intended to appeal against the continuation of the investigation.
The domestic legal processes should take precedence, Manila government attorney general Menardo Guevarra said in a statement to journalists on Friday.
The new president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is a political ally of Duterte.
A spokesman for Duterte said the former president took the announcement calmly.
Duterte is ready to face the local courts "in all humility."
But it would be an insult to the Philippine criminal justice system to submit to a foreign court.
Some police officers from the drug war were also punished.
After the investigation began, Duterte announced his country's withdrawal from the Criminal Court in 2019.
However, the court still sees itself responsible for the crimes that were committed when the Philippines was still a state party.
After his election in 2016, Duterte called on the police to crack down on drug criminals.
Human rights activists assume that up to 30,000 people were killed in the course of police operations and by killer squads operating underground in the drug war.