Although the Philippine government is endorsing the United States (US)-led Summit for Democracy Declaration to affirm the country’s “unwavering commitment to upholding our democratic values and principles,” it “disassociates” itself from the declaration’s reference to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines had joined the US and several other countries in endorsing the declaration as a testament to its commitment “to strengthening our democratic institutions for the benefit of the Filipino people".

However, it nixed any association with the ICC, which had recently rejected the Philippines’ appeal to suspend the drug war probe because it did not find “persuasive reasons” to do so.

“The Philippines, however, disassociates itself from the Declaration’s reference to the International Criminal Court (ICC). While the current language provides a qualifier that the ICC’s role may be acknowledged provided it abides by the principle of complementarity, the Philippines’ earlier decision to withdraw from the ICC was precisely because the Court failed the test of complementarity,” the statement read.

“The PH government does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction and affirms that the PH has the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes, including those allegedly committed in the context of the country’s anti-illegal drugs campaign,” it added.

The declaration said it acknowledges “the important role played by the ICC as a permanent and impartial tribunal complementary to national jurisdictions in advancing accountability for the most serious crimes under international law".

This was stated under the declaration’s commitment to “hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, including those committed by non-state actors".

But the DFA maintained that “the rule of law and accountability are fully functioning through its criminal justice system and efforts to improve mechanisms, such as the AO35 Mechanism".

AO35, or Administrative Order No. 35, was signed by late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to create an inter-agency panel on extralegal killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other grave violations of the right of life, liberty, and security of the people.

“The PH upholds its commitment to fight impunity for atrocity crimes, notwithstanding the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, especially since the Philippines has a national legislation punishing atrocity crimes,” the statement said.

It added that “human rights-related dialogues and platforms must not be politicized” and must not target specific countries.

Duterte and Senator Ronald dela Rosa, then police chief and enforcer of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs campaign, are among the major players accused of crimes against humanity before the ICC for the tens of thousands who died during the bloody campaign.

Marcos said his administration would end all involvement with the ICC and would no longer have a “next move” after the Philippines’ appeal was rejected.

Duterte had withdrawn from the ICC in 2018 following the international tribunal’s preliminary investigation into the violent drug war, but Article 127 of the Rome Statute said that a state party cannot be discharged of its obligations to the statute before the withdrawal date.

Even the Philippines’ own Supreme Court (SC) ruled that “withdrawing from the Rome Statute does not discharge a state party from obligations it has incurred as a member.".

Duterte’s war on drugs had reportedly killed over 6,000 people, with different international human rights organizations putting the actual number of deaths up to 12,000.