The International Criminal Court (ICC) should no longer waste its time and resources on futile investigations into the country, Malacañang asserted Tuesday following the Supreme Court's junking of a petition that sought to nullify the country's withdrawal from the body.
(YANCY LIM / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / FILE PHOTO)
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines since it was no longer a member of the international body. Roque issued the statement after welcoming the latest SC decision.
"We call on the ICC not to waste time and resources on investigations that will not prosper as we do not recognize ICC jurisdiction over the Philippines," he said in a statement Tuesday, March 15.
Roque likewise opposed any ICC meddling in the country's affairs, citing "uncontroverted proof that domestic legal and judicial processes are functioning normally in our country."
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition that sought to invalidate the President's withdrawal from the ICC back in 2018. The court ruled that the "judiciary has enough powers to protect human rights contrary to speculation raised by the petitioners."
The President earlier ordered the pullout of the country's membership from the Rome statute that created the ICC over complaints about alleged violation of due process. The pullout came after the launch of a preliminary inquiry into the government's bloody drug war, that has been marred by alleged rights abuses.
Reacting to the SC decision, Roque said: "We welcome the latest Supreme Court decision dismissing the petition which questioned the President’s unilateral withdrawal from the International Criminal Court." "The latest High Court ruling, which is decided on mootness, acknowledges that the President is indeed the chief architect of this country’s foreign policy," he said.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo likewise called on the ICC to stop interfering with the country's affairs.
Echoing the President's previous statement, he said ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, nor any of its state officials, "given that the Rome Statute was not published in accordance with the demands of due process and the right to information."
"We therefore reiterate our calls to the officials of the ICC to stop their futile endeavors apropos the internal affairs of our country. They should be enlightened by Article 127 of the Rome Statute that their preliminary examination, not being considered as a criminal investigation or court proceeding, has neither basis in fact nor in law to proceed," he said in a statement.
"It is about time for foreign elements not to meddle in the affairs of our state and unchain their imperialist assault on our sovereignty, even as the citizens of this country assert our independence against external forces that seek to trample upon our fundamental sovereign rights institutions," he added.
According to Panelo, the SC decision should put to rest the debate on the President's authority to withdraw from treaties and international agreements.
"As we have repeatedly articulated in many fora, such exercise is the sole prerogative vested by law upon the President as head of state and as the chief architect of our country's foreign policy," he said.