Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero takes his oath as the new Senate President on May 20, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

<div></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1731498833012172727383877120240520-senate-leadership-escudero-MD9.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Senator Francis &#x27;Chiz&#x27; Escudero takes his oath as the new Senate President on May 20, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File"/></div>Senator Francis &#x27;Chiz&#x27; Escudero takes his oath as the new Senate President on May 20, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File<div></div>MANILA — Senate President Francis Escudero is cool to the idea of the country rejoining the International Criminal Court after former President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday urged the court to get on with its investigation into his administration&#x27;s war on drugs.Sens. Aquilino &quot;Koko&quot; Pimentel III and Risa Hontiveros of the Senate minority have also urged the government to rejoin the ICC.The Senate chief noted that it was Duterte who pulled the country out of the ICC in the first place.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/13/duterte-sits-beside-de-lima-at-house-quad-comm-inquiry-1102">Duterte sits beside De Lima at House quad comm inquiry</a></div>&quot;Hindi na bahagi ang Pilipinas ng ICC dahil sa kanya. Tapos ngayon, papamadaliin niya yung ICC? Again, babalik ko &#x27;yong tanong. Paano ngayon i-operationalize yan?&quot; Escudero told reporters. (We are no longer in the ICC because of him, and now he is rushing the court? Again, this goes back to the question of how do you operationalize that?)Escudero had asked a similar question in response to Duterte&#x27;s declaration at the Senate that he takes full responsibility for the violent anti-drug campaign where at least 7,000 supposed drug personalities were killed.&quot;Ang question dito nga, e paano nga? Siya nga yung umalis doon, di ba? Kaya wala tayo doon dahil sa kanya. So paano niya ngayon pagsasabihan at papamadaliin yun?&quot; (The question here is how will that happen? He pulled us out. He&#x27;s the reason we&#x27;re not part of the ICC. So how can he now tell them to hurry up?)The Rome Statute creating the ICC is a treaty, ratification of which would require the concurrence of the Senate.<div>ICC JURISDICTION</div>Escudero, a lawyer by training, however pointed out that the ICC only takes jurisdiction when the country&#x27;s justice system isn&#x27;t working. He said he is not ready to make that declaration. &quot;Hindi ako nakahandang i-concede yun at aminin sa publiko dito man sa Pilipinas o sa labas ng bansa na hindi nagpa-function ang justice system natin,&quot; he said.(I am not ready to concede that and to admit to the public in the Philippines and abroad that our justice system is not functioning)&quot;Sampal naman yata yun sa ating hudikatura at husgado para sabihin ng isang halal na opisyal &#x27;yun.&quot; Escudero said.(I think that would be a slap in the face of our judiciary and our courts for an elected official to say that)Families of victims of alleged extrajudicial killings in the drug war who have reached out to the ICC argue that domestic processes have not worked to bring them justice.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/13/duterte-tells-icc-to-hurry-up-with-probe-baka-mamatay-na-ako-1235">Duterte tells ICC to &#x27;hurry up&#x27; with probe: &#x27;Baka mamatay na ako&#x27;</a></div>Escudero maintained that the country&#x27;s justice system is functioning.&quot;Nagpa-function, pero ang tanong, hindi ka ba kontento? Tingin mo ba sobra pa? Pero ang probisyon ng tratado, hindi nagpa-function,&quot; he said.(It functions, but the question is, are you not satisfied? Do you think it is too much? But the provision in the treaty is when the justice system isn&#x27;t functioning)Under the treaty, a case is inadmissible at the ICC if it is already being investigated or prosecuted by a state “unless the state is unwilling or unable to genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution.”Among the signs of unwilligness, under the Rome Statute, are proceedings are “made for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility”, an unjustified delay in proceedings “which in the circumstances is inconsistent with the intent to bring the person concerned to justice”, and if the proceedings are not being done independently or impartially.&quot;Handa ka bang sabihin hindi nagpa-function? Na wala ka nang matatakbuhan? Dahil sa dami na magagaling naman din ang abogado, bakit hindi nila sinasampahan ng kaso si Pangulong Duterte mismo, ang kinasuhan nila, yung mga pulis,&quot; Escudero said.(Are you ready to declare that it is not functioning? That there is nowhere to run? Because, of the number of good lawyers in the country, how come they have not filed a case against President Duterte. They only filed cases against the police)

"Ang question dito nga, e paano nga? Siya nga yung umalis doon, di ba? Kaya wala tayo doon dahil sa kanya. So paano niya ngayon pagsasabihan at papamadaliin yun?" Escudero said.

"Ang question dito nga, e paano nga? Siya nga yung umalis doon, di ba? Kaya wala tayo doon dahil sa kanya. So paano niya ngayon pagsasabihan at papamadaliin yun?" Escudero said.

Senate chief cool to PH rejoining ICC, says local courts still work

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Senate chief cool to PH rejoining ICC, says local courts still work

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 13, 2024 07:54 PM PHT

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