Proposal to rejoin ICC being studied - BBM

Proposals for the country's rejoining the International Criminal Court are "under study," President Marcos said yesterday, raising the possibility of ICC prosecutors being allowed to investigate and possibly prosecute former president Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity in the conduct of his bloody war on drugs.

- HELEN FLORES

Marcos, however, also said that while he sees nothing unusual with the filing of resolutions in the House of Representatives urging the government to cooperate with the ICC, the country's judicial system is functioning well and thus can handle such task.

In March 2018, Duterte ordered the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute after then ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the launch of a preliminary examination on the drug killings. The Rome Statute created the ICC.

"There is also a question: should we return under the fold of the ICC? So that's again under study. So we'll just keep looking at it and see what our options are," Marcos said.

"That issue is simple. Maybe it's not right that outsiders, foreigners will tell us who among our police will be investigated, who will be arrested, who will be imprisoned.

Maybe that's not right. Filipinos should be the ones doing that. We have the police. We have the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation).

We have DOJ (Department of Justice).

They can do that job. And that's really where the conflict is," the President said in Filipino.

Marcos noted that cooperating with the court may have serious implications on the country's judicial system and even sovereignty, considering Duterte's decision to withdraw.

"But as I have always said, there are still some problems in terms of jurisdiction and sovereignty. Now, if you can solve those problems, then that would be something else. But those questions are quite fundamental," he said.

"Because if you're talking about the sovereign- jurisdiction of the ICC, especially since we have withdrawn from the Rome Statute a few years back, that brings into question whether or not this (probe on Duterte drug war) is actually possible," the President said.