VICE President Sara Duterte slammed the House of Representatives for hearing the resolutions urging the government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in pursuing its investigation on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, saying congressmen have to respect President Marcos Jr.’s stand against it.
“In light of the sudden and unannounced joint meetings being convened in the House of Representatives regarding the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) jurisdiction over our country, I respectfully remind our honorable lawmakers of the very words that our President, His Excellency Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. reiterated less than half a year ago: ‘Any probe conducted by the ICC would be an intrusion into our internal matters and a threat to our sovereignty… We are done talking with the ICC. Like what we have been saying from the beginning, we will not cooperate with them in any way, shape, or form,’’” the Vice President said in a statement.
Given what she said was the President’s “clear standpoint,” the Vice President urged the House “to respect the position of the President, who is the chief architect of our foreign policy.”
The younger Duterte said the President has also already affirmed that his opinion is based on the fact that the ICC “ceased to have jurisdiction over the Philippines upon the effectivity of our withdrawal from the Rome Statute on March 17, 2019.”
“To allow ICC prosecutors to investigate alleged crimes that are now under the exclusive jurisdiction of our prosecutors and our Courts is not only patently unconstitutional but effectively belittles and degrades our legal institutions,” she said. “Let’s not insult and humiliate our Judiciary by showing the world that only foreigners can give justice to our own country.”
Last Wednesday, the House joint committees on justice and human rights began tackling House Resolution No. 1393 filed by the militant Makabayan bloc and HR No. 1477 filed by human rights panel chair Rep. Bienvenido Abante of Manila and Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider) last Monday, which calls on the Marcos administration “to extend their full cooperation to the ICC Prosecutor with respect to its investigation of any alleged crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC.”
HR No. 1477 was filed amid the House leadership’s word war with the former chief executive over the House’s decision to strip Vice President Sara Duterte of confidential funds under the P5.768 trillion proposed national budget for 2023.
There are also rumors that some lawmakers are eyeing the Vice President’s impeachment over her alleged questionable use of P125 million in confidential funds last year but the Speaker has denied it, saying there is no such plot against the younger Duterte despite her rift with the House leadership.
The joint panel, however, later decided to defer the hearings pending the referral of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman’s House Resolution No. 1482 which seeks to verify if the body has jurisdiction over the country since former Duterte ordered the country’s withdrawal from the ICC’s Rome Statute on March 17, 2018.
Speaker Martin Romualdez, however, said the House leadership was just doing its job because it has to respond to the call of some lawmakers.
“We have to read out these bills and resolutions, we have to act, we have to be responsive sa mga hinaing ng mga kongresista (to the grievances of congressmen). We have to look at it one at a time,” he told a press conference at the 31st Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) in Manila.
Lagman, a veteran lawyer-lawmaker, has said it is essential for the joint panel to first “establish and confirm the verity” of some “factual and legal parameters” before tackling the resolutions.
He reminded the joint panel that the jurisdiction of the ICC over covered crimes committed in the Philippines took effect on November 1, 2011 after the Philippines acceded to the Rome Statute and the withdrawal became effective only a year after its filing, specifically on March 17, 2019.
Consequently, Lagman said the jurisdiction of the ICC on covered crimes committed in the Philippines spans the period from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.
REMULLA STATEMENT
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said he will discuss with Malacanang the call of some members of the House of Representatives to cooperate with the investigation of the ICC on the drug war deaths under the previous administration.
“I intend to seek out the Executive Secretary tomorrow. Just to be able to make sure that we are on the same page in this matter. Of course, we need to get instructions from the Executive Secretary,” Remulla told reporters in a briefing.
Specifically, Remulla said he would clarify with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin if Malacanang is inclined to renew the country’s membership with the ICC.
“I want to know how it affects the whole universe of the ICC and the Philippine government as it is right now,” Remulla added.
Remulla added that while the President has the last say on the issue since he is the chief architect of the country’s foreign policy, there are other considerations “in determining whether or not we should go back to the ICC.”
But he declined to detail what are these other considerations.
Last Monday, Remulla said Remulla yesterday said it will need a “serious study” on whether the government will cooperate with the probe on the drug war deaths and abuses in the previous administration by the ICC.
Remulla made the statement when he was sought for comment on the resolution filed by Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. urging different agencies under the Executive Branch to cooperate with the ICC probe.
The DOJ chief acknowledged that the move in the House “raises more questions than answers” considering that the country is no longer a member of the ICC.
“The resolution in the House tells us to work with the ICC but the first question is why will we work with the ICC now that we’re no longer a member with the ICC? That is the question. So, are we going to be members of the ICC first for this thing to happen?” he added.
The Philippines withdrew as a State party from the ICC’s Rome Statute effective March 17, 2019.
Earlier, ICC Special Prosecutor Karim Khan argued that contrary to Manila’s position, the Philippines was still a party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC when the alleged abuses and extrajudicial killings related to Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs occurred.
Khan said the scope of the probe covers alleged crimes from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019. — With Ashzel Hachero
