In spite of the plea of the International Criminal Court for the country not to withdraw from the Rome Statute, it is safe to say that as far as the Duterte administration is concerned, it is already a done deal. It will, however, take a full year before the whole process is completed.
In the meantime, the initial inquiry being conducted by the ICC on whether there are enough legal grounds to formally proceed with the preliminary investigation with regard to the alleged extrajudicial killings in the country will proceed.
The notice of withdrawal handed to the United Nations has no effect on the inquiry whatsoever. So, if the withdrawal was intended to stop the inquiry, it has not worked. Maybe it was to make whatever investigation the ICC conducts difficult due to the non-cooperation of state actors as already directed by President Duterte.
Why did President Duterte take the dramatic step of withdrawing the country from the Rome Statute? Was the decision his alone or was it upon the suggestion of his advisers? Some observers point to his advisers. But when it comes to the law, it is almost certain that the decision was by the President alone.
Most independent observers were not in favor of the withdrawal. The President, however, together with his supporters obviously view it differently.
So, how, did this come about? It is hard to pinpoint the one exact reason that triggered the withdrawal notice. Perhaps we can start with the President’s colorful language about killing people who want to destroy his country, as he loves to point out. There was the unannounced trip of Agnes Callamard, the UN rapporteur on Human Rights who made a well-publicized trip to the country last year to speak at a forum at the University of the Philippines. That trip elicited a lot of complaints from the government because for one, she was always in the company of people and organizations critical of the administration.
Also, the remarks of the UN Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein who is from Jordan—a country that does not exactly have a sterling record for respecting human rights—for President Duterte to undergo psychiatric examination was uncalled for.
Leaders of some member countries have complained about too much interference from the UN in their internal affairs even as the only countries targeted for investigation by the ICC are third-world countries and never from western, developed counties. This in spite of allegations of human rights violations like the bombing of innocent civilians in their anti-terrorism campaigns.
President Duterte therefore believes, rightly or wrongly, that Callamard and Zeid Ra’ad Hussein are biased against him and that he will not receive a fair and impartial investigation.
The question now is whether this withdrawal will be good or bad for the country in the long run. Will it affect other aspects of Philippine life like the economy and our standing in the international community?
Not content with our withdrawal, President Duterte has also invited other countries to withdraw from the ICC. It is noteworthy to note that the only other country that has so far withdrawn from the ICC is the tiny African country of Burundi.
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In today’s complicated world, genuine leaders are hard to come by. This is probably because people who are voted or appointed into office are easily swallowed by the corrupt political milieu in which we all live in. There are also people who can easily throw away lifelong beliefs and principles in exchange for money or power, two intoxicating elixirs of life that many people cannot seem to resist.
This is part of the reason why no matter what we do, we cannot seem to stamp out corruption or solve other pressing national problems. There are simply too many greedy people around. Among our politicians, we see them everywhere as political butterflies hopping from one party to another. If asked why they do this, the answer is always the same—they are doing this for their constituency, which is often not true. They are actually doing it for themselves.
There must be something in an elective position that drives many to crave it. It cannot be the very low pay. It has to be something else. Among those in appointed positions, the things that some people are willing to do to get appointed or show appreciation to the appointing authority are so outrageous that they are hard to swallow. Decent people with principles and who refuse to sell their souls to the devil almost always end up not getting in government.
The worst, however, are people who change beliefs so easily after making the public believe that they are principled individuals who stand for something worthwhile like defending the rights of the oppressed and downtrodden. These kinds of people are even worst than Doctor Faustus who sold his soul to the devil for a short period of glory.
At least Faustus never pretended to be other than what he was.
Although the midterm elections is still 14 months away, prospective candidates are already being mentioned. Some of those being named make me cringe.
We have been starving for praiseworthy leaders.