Marcos voted for Philippines' ICC membership during Senate stint, lawmakers told

RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meet government officials during the situational report on the 6.8 earthquake in General Santos City on Thursday, November 23, 2023. Kj Rosales, PPA Pool" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/11/24/20231123-marcos-general-santos-ppa-3.jpg"/><figcaption>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meet government officials during the situational report on the 6.8 earthquake in General Santos City on Thursday, November 23, 2023. Kj Rosales, PPA Pool</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — In 2011, then-Sen. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and 16 other senators voted for the ratification of the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC).<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/29/23/marcos-on-his-own-can-decide-on-rejoining-icc-drilon">Marcos can decide on rejoining ICC without Senate approval, says Drilon</a></li></ul>The information was revealed Wednesday during the hearing of House Committees on Justice and Human Rights deliberating on 3 resolutions seeking the Philippines&#x27; cooperation with the ICC probe into the previous administration&#x27;s war on drugs.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/11/28/23/hontiveros-files-resolution-urging-malacaang-to-cooperate-with-icc-probe">Hontiveros files resolution urging Malacañang to cooperate with ICC probe</a></li></ul>&quot;On August 23, 2011, the Philippine Senate on a vote of 17-1 passed, concurred into the ICC Rome Statue and you can see from the records who were one of the 17 senators: it was then-Sen. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. Yes, he voted for the approval, the concurrence of the Rome statute Ratification,&quot; said Gilbert Andres, executive director of Center for International Law.Following his election as president last year, Marcos had shunned the ICC probe, saying that the court had &quot;no jurisdiction&quot; over the Philippines and that its investigation was a &quot;threat to our sovereignty.&quot;But last week, Marcos said the Philippines was studying a possible return to the ICC following the filing of the House resolutions.<div>JURISDICTION</div>During the House hearing, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, the government&#x27;s top lawyer, maintained that the matter of cooperating with the ICC is a &quot;political decision,&quot; highlighting Marcos&#x27; previous statement against the ICC.&quot;And in that respect, the head of the republic, the head of the state, the president himself has repeatedly declared that the republic cannot extend its cooperation to the ICC in any form or manner whatsoever because national institutions are functioning,&quot; Guevarra said.&quot;[A]ny intervention by a foreign entity such as the ICC would be an encroachment on our sovereignty,&quot; he added.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/24/23/marcos-philippine-return-to-icc-under-study">Marcos says Philippine return to ICC &#x27;under study&#x27;</a></li></ul>But former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, who was also at the hearing, dismissed the sovereignty argument.&quot;No, it&#x27;s not an issue of sovereignty kasi we signed a treaty obligation. For every treaty obligation you are admitting... you agreed to that... You lessened a bit of your sovereignty when you involved yourself in an international treaty. Parang kontrata yan eh,&quot; Colmenares said.Guevarra also argued that the Philippines was no longer a member of the ICC when the prosecutor approved the investigation, therefore losing its jurisdiction.&quot;Quite unfortunately the trigger came much too late and the ICC prosecutor himself should be—well I wouldn&#x27;t want to say blamed—but his lack of assiduousness that prompted the situation,&quot; Guevarra said.Colmenares disagreed.&quot;We argue as early as 2017 and 2018 it was commenced,&quot; Colmenares said as he noted that the process began when the cases were filed in those years.Department of Justice (DOJ) Prosecutor Hazel Decena Valdez, Program Director of the DOJ Human Rights Office, pointed out that the government is in fact investigating the drug war.&quot;The present administration has followed through the efforts of the Inter-Agency Review Panel that was previously created to look into the drug related operations under the previous administration where death occurred,&quot; Valdez said.The &quot;wishes to echo the statement of the President that the state&#x27;s legal, law enforcement and judicial systems are all working,&quot; Valdez said.&quot;There is no need for the ICC to step in and dictate on our authorities,&quot; she said. Commission on Human Rights (CHR) commissioner Faydah Dumarpa meanwhile expressed the body&#x27;s readiness to cooperate with the ICC.&quot;We are of the position that the Commission will cooperate... so requests and the extent of our cooperation would be determined in accordance with the specific request of the ICC and within the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights,&quot; Dumarpa also said.<div>ARREST</div>In his own presentation, Center for International Law&#x27;s Andres cited the Philippine Act on Crimes against International Humanitarian law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, which allows the government to surrender persons facing cases overseas.Andres referred to Section 17 of that law which stated: &quot;In the interest of justice, the relevant Philippine authorities may dispense with the investigation or prosecution of a crime punishable under this act if another court or international tribunal is already conducting the investigation or undertaking the prosecution of such crime... Instead the authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate court if any or to another state pursuant to the applicable extradition law and treaties.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/11/29/23/no-pressure-from-speaker-to-tackle-icc-resolution-castro">&#x27;Walang pagbabaston&#x27;: No pressure from Speaker to tackle ICC resolution - Castro</a></li></ul>Andres also urged cooperation with the ICC to be consistent with the country&#x27;s invocations of international law in the West Philippine Sea.&quot;We say that we should adhere to international law and a rules based international legal order. Hence, if we be faithful with that consistent plea of the Philippines for international law, we should also be consistent with our international obligation under the ICC Rome statute,&quot; Andres said.Opened in 2002, the ICC is the world&#x27;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.

In 2011, then-Sen. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. was among the 17 senators who voted for the ratification of the Rome Statute that created the ICC.

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Marcos voted for Philippines' ICC membership during Senate stint, lawmakers told

Marcos voted for Philippines' ICC membership during Senate stint, lawmakers told

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 29, 2023 02:28 PM PHT

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House of Representatives

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International Criminal Court

Menardo Guevarra

war on drugs

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