Being the President means that Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s decision not to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) will be followed.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III emphasized this following Marcos's meeting with some members of his Cabinet on the issue.
‘’President Marcos is the decision-maker on if and/or when to join an international organization or treaty,’’ Pimentel, a former Senate President, said.
‘’I disagree with his decision but since he is the President it is his decision which will be followed,’’ Pimentel, a bar topnotcher, added.
The decision to pull the Philippines out of the ICC was made by former President Rodrigo Duterte in March 2018.
Duterte’s decision came about a month after the ICC launched a preliminary investigation into the deaths of some 12,000 persons related to the then-President Duterte ’s drug war.
Human Rights Watch has called Duterte's term a "human rights calamity", as his administration "has rejected all domestic and international calls for accountability for these abuses, and instead has denied any government responsibility for the thousands of drug war deaths".