MANILA — Should the Philippines go back to being a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

Retired Supreme Court Justice and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said Thursday, “Why not?”

“The reason why we have to have membership with the ICC is that if somebody acts outside of the bounds of the law pero hindi tayo member ng ICC and the local jurisdiction does not move, then wala tayong magagawa,” she said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently said authorities were looking into returning "under the fold of the ICC", which is investigating the drug war started by his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

• Marcos says Philippine return to ICC 'under study'

The Marcos administration previously shunned the ICC probe, with the President himself saying that the court had "no jurisdiction" in the Philippines and that its investigation was a "threat to our sovereignty."

• ICC junks Philippine gov't appeal, to proceed with drug war probe

Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC in 2019, a year after the Hague-based tribunal began a preliminary probe into the crackdown that killed thousands.

His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, raised several legal arguments against rejoining the ICC in a letter to the Department of Justice, which is studying the issue, an official said last week.

• VP Duterte raises 'valid arguments' vs ICC return in letter to DOJ: official

“You could defer from her opinion, I could defer from my opinion, but that’s her opinion. Whether or not it merits the DOJ’s action, I don’t know,” Carpio said of the Vice President's stance.

Opened in 2002, the ICC is the world's only permanent court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and aims to prosecute the worst abuses when national courts are unable or unwilling.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse

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