US campaign vs ICC beyond Philippines' control — Palace
Published Jul 14, 2026 02:41 pm
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Palace Press Officer Claire Castro (Betheena Unite)
The Philippines is staying out of the recent pronouncement by the United States calling for the dismantling of the "International Criminal Court's threat" to its sovereignty, as it is beyond the government's control, Malacañang said.
"Hindi sakop ng ating gobyerno ang polisiya ng bansang US (The policies of the United States is beyond our own government)," Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a text message to reporters on Tuesday, July 14.
Castro made the statement when sought for the Palace's reaction to the announcement made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about a "sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty."
The Palace spokesperson did not comment further.
According to Rubio, the campaign will feature "a whole-of-government response to systematically disable the ICC’s ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty."
He added that the ICC "poses an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty – it claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison American servicemen and officials operating on behalf of America’s national interest."
The Philippines is no longer a member of the Rome Statute, having officially withdrawn in March 2019.
As of February this year, the Marcos administration maintains its position over rejoining the ICC. Malacañang then said there is no discussion about the country's return to the ICC.