Metro Manila, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel, who is leading the upper chamber’s probe into the bloody drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The lawmaker made the appeal before members of the diplomatic community at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, Nov. 8.Pimentel said the government must see ICC membership as an “insurance policy” in case the country’s justice system fails.“We are monitoring the Quad Comm, and here in the Senate, we also have an investigation. We’ve seen that in the worst-case scenario where our systems fail, such as when our democratic system elects a killer as a leader, one without conscience or compassion, and our justice system is slow to respond” is when the ICC is needed, Pimentel was quoted as saying in his speech.The lawmaker said it’s up to Marcos to rejoin the tribunal as it falls under the executive jurisdiction. Marcos earlier stood firm in not cooperating with the international tribunal, but has since softened his stance.In a radio interview, Pimentel also said the government’s commitment to the international body must not be retroactive.“Ang aking opinion dyan, covered na iyon ng ating commitments noong unang panahon pa na miyembro tayo kasi iyon ang promise natin doon. From the time, sa panahon na miyembro tayo covered ng ICC, iyong ang understanding ko sa treaty. Pero itong aking panawagan na bumalik tayo…huwag na natin ito ipa-atras kasi hindi naman talaga pwede. Prospective talaga,” he told DWIZ-882.
[Translation: My opinion on that is that it is already covered by our commitments from way back when we were members because that was our promise then. From the time we were members, it was covered by the ICC, that’s how I understand the treaty. But this call of mine for us to return… let’s not reverse it anymore because it’s really not possible]
Pimentel, who was Senate President from 2016 to 2018, once expressed support for Duterte’s withdrawal from the ICC.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in March 2019. The tribunal’s investigation covers the extrajudicial killings from 2011 to March 2019 under Duterte’s term as Davao City mayor and president.
