Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 31) — The Philippines has been “disengaged” from the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the Duterte administration, a senator said on Friday.
“Dapat naman po, matagal na dapat tayong wala diyan. Nag-disengage na talaga tayo nung panahon pa ni dating Pangulong Duterte at ako naman po’y naniniwala sa ating judicial system,” Senator Bong Go told reporters.
[Translation: We have departed from them for a long time already. We already disengaged since President Duterte’s term, and I trust in our judicial system.]
The remarks of the senator, a former aide and long-time ally of the former president, came after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said that the Philippines will “disengage” from the ICC after it rejected the country’ s bid to halt the investigation on the bloody drug war.
Go said only local courts could pass judgment on Duterte.
“Kung meron man pong dapat humusga at lumitis kay dating Pangulong Duterte — kung saka-sakali man pong sa tingin ninyo meron siyang kasalanan — ay dapat po ang Pilipino,” he said.
[Translation: If there is anyone who should judge President Duterte – if you think he has committed something wrong – it should be the Filipino.]
In September 2021, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber approved the opening of the probe covering the crimes allegedly committed from November 2011 to March 2019, including the extrajudicial killings allegedly carried out in the Davao Region by the so-called Davao Death Squad.
Marcos already ruled out rejoining the ICC, noting that local investigations are ongoing on Duterte’s drug war, where 6,200 people were killed based on government data.
On the other hand, local and international human rights groups the deaths could reach up to 30,000.
