Will the Philippines stick to its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court?
It seems the Marcos administration is not closed to the possibility of reviving ties with the ICC amid a push from lawmakers to allow the probe into the deaths related to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla on Thursday said he will meet with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin to clarify the government’s position on its membership with the ICC.
“I intend to meet with the Executive Secretary (today, Friday). Just to be able to make sure that we are on the same page on this matter.
Of course, we are asking for instructions from the Executive Secretary,” Remulla said.
“I will only clarify some things. Because if we have plans to become members again of the ICC like what’s being said in Congress, I want to know how it affects the whole universe of the ICC and the Philippine government as it is,” he added.
Vice President Sara Duterte, however, called on House lawmakers to respect President Marcos’ earlier statement that the Philippines will not cooperate with the ICC probe.
“We urge the House to respect the position of the President, who is the chief architect of our foreign policy,” the Vice President said in a statement.
Allowing ICC prosecutors to investigate alleged crimes under thejurisdiction of local courts “is not only patently unconstitutional but effectively belittles and degrades our legal institutions,” the younger Duterte said.
“Let us not insult and embarrass our courts by showing the world that we believe that foreigners are the only ones who have the ability to give justice to our own country,” she added.
The resolution urging the government’s cooperation with the ICC was discussed Tuesday at the House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Justice.
The resolution’s author and House human rights panel chairman Bienvenido Abante Jr. said cooperating with the ICC would be a chance to show the Philippine justice system was working.
Remulla said there is a question of whether the Philippines will return as a member of the ICC amid the House push.
“The first question is why will we work with the ICC now that we’re no longer a member of it, right? That’s the question. So are we going to be members again of the ICC for this thing to happen?” the Justice chief said.
In 2019, the Philippines, under then-President Rodrigo Duterte, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal began a preliminary probe into his drug war, followed by the launch of a formal inquiry later that year.
The probe was suspended in November 2021 after the government said it was re-examining several hundred cases of drug operations.
In January 2023, the ICC authorized the reopening of the inquiry. In July, the ICC Appeals Chamber denied the government’s petition against the resumption of the inquiry, prompting numerous government officials, including President Marcos, to speak against continued engagement with the ICC.
Under the drug war, at least 6,200 suspects were killed in police operations based on government records. For his part, Senator Ronald dela Rosa expressed confidence he can get through the ICC probe.
Dela Rosa was the chief implementer of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
“If it’s there, then I have no other recourse but to face it. I am very confident that I will get through that case,” the senator and Duterte’s former police chief said.
“But I will not cooperate. Why should I cooperate? Why should I give a deposition or counter-affidavit if our own government does not want to cooperate?” he added. Senator Robin Padilla, for his part, said disallowing the ICC from conducting a probe would ensure a free Philippines.
“I wish to put a definite end to it now because it will bring only confusion to our people,” Padilla said.