In the event President Marcos decides to allow the Philippines to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC), Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the Senate may issue a resolution or a concurrence to support or validate his decision.
Escudero pointed this out amid the continuing debates on the whether the Philippines should rejoin the ICC, five years after the country withdrew from it during the previous Duterte administration.
“The President is the chief architect of our foreign policy. Ang Kamara ay walang papel sa (The House of Representatives has no role in) foreign policy,” Escudero said in an interview over Radio DZBB on Sunday, December 3.
“So, kung pumirma siya, doon lamang magsisimula ang usapin kung meron nga bang Senate concurrence na kailangan o hindi (So if he signs in the document, that’s the only time to discuss whether the Senate’s concurrence is needed or not),” he pointed out.
“Pwedeng concurrence, pwedeng resolution din ang gawin na sinasang-ayunan iyong muling pagpirma ng Pangulo at kung ito ay makakuha ng two-thirds votes ay parang ratification na rin yan (It can be a concurrence, it can also be a resolution stating that the Senate agrees with the President’s renewal signing and if this garners a two-thirds vote, then that also equates to a ratification),” Escudero opined.
Nevertheless, he said he supports the President’s call to thoroughly study calls for the Philippines to rejoin the ICC.
“Para sa akin tama iyong sinabi ng Pangulo na dapat ito ay pag-aralang mabuti dahil may mga pinasok tayong tratado na tayo naman ang nagbabayad palagi at tayo ang nagdurusa (For me, what the President said is correct that it should be carefully studied because we have entered into treaties where we are the ones who always pay and we are the ones who suffer),” Escudero said.
He cited the Philippines’ accession to Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental organization that was established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
As of 2022, Escudero noted that the FATF has retained the Philippines in its “gray list,” citing its alleged failure to resolve “strategic inadequacies in countering money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing.”
But other countries that refused to be part of the FATF encountered no problems getting blacklisted.
“Katulad na lamang ng FATF, sumali tayo d’yan kaya tayo ang naba-blacklist. Ang Malaysia, hindi sumali kaya kahit anong gawin nila, hindi sila maba-blacklist (It's just like the FATF, we joined that and that's why we're the ones being blacklisted. Malaysia did not join, so no matter what they do, they will not be blacklisted,” Escudero pointed out.
“Kaya itong ICC ay dapat pag-aralan din ng Pangulo. Ano nga ba ang mapapala ng ating bansa kung tayo ay muling papasok dito (So this ICC should also be studied by the President. What will our country benefit from if we enter here again)?” Escudero said.
The lawmaker said he hopes that should the Chief Executive finally let the country rejoin the ICC, it would be due to a well-studied decision that will benefit the country, and not certain political interests.
“Sana hindi pulitika, sana hindi personal ang rason sa muli nating pagpasok sa ICC. Dapat iyan ang ipagpaliwanang nang husto ng Executive Branch kung itutuloy nga nila ang muli nating pagsali (I hope our reason for rejoining the ICC is not political, nor personal. That should be explained thoroughly by the Executive Branch if they continue to the pursuit of rejoining),” Escudero said.