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Cayetano admits: ICC can still probe Duterte even after PHL withdrawal


 

The Philippines' withdrawal from International Criminal Court (ICC) does not exempt President Rodrigo Duterte and his government from the preliminary examination into the alleged state-sanctioned killings in his war on drugs, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano admitted on Wednesday.

In an interview on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, the foreign minister said the President's "principled" stand to break away from the Rome Statute was not meant to dodge the review on the alleged human rights violations since the issue is still considered to be under the international court's jurisdiction.

"But to prove that it's not a way of evading or getting away from the consequences or the jurisdiction of nung ICC or 'yung nangyari na, even if mag-withdraw tayo, covered pa rin 'yung actions natin when we were a member," said Cayetano.

"So doon sa mga nagsasabi ayaw lang ni Presidente maging liable dito — he's not doing it for himself kasi we still have obligations during that time, it's really for the soldiers  and for the police to make a stand sa ating mundo na, you know, wag niyong ipolitika ang human rights," he added.

Cayetano clarified that the Philippine government will still be subject to the ICC review, leaving Duterte accountable for actions prior to the withdrawal.

"Hindi ka lang liable kung pag nag-withdraw ka na and forward. Pero 'yung before that, you're still liable, but we believe that the President  is protecting the Filipinos," the secretary said.

The initial probe to take place intends to determine whether a full-blown investigation should be implemented.

Addressing criticism hurled at the withdrawal, Cayetano remarked that rooting for the ICC and opposing the President's decision translates to distrust in Philippine courts.

"Alam mo, doon sa mga nagsasabing yung ICC, OK 'yan, ang sinasabi niyo, hindi nagwo-work ang korte natin and judicial system because, under the Rome Statute, they can only take over kung hindi nagwowork 'yung sistema sa bansa mo," he said.

Legal counsel

Cayetano's admission runs counter to earlier pronouncements by Duterte's legal counsel Salvador Panelo.

"How can you examine when the state party is no longer a member, has withdrawn?" Panelo told reporters in Malacañang. 

Panelo insisted the ICC cannot probe Duterte and his campaign against illegal drugs even if the complaint was filed prior to the announcement of withdrawal from the tribunal.

"They can do what they want but as far as we are concerned, we have ceased to be a member of the Rome Statute," the Palace official said.

Former Ateneo School of Government dean Antonio La Viña noted that the complaint against Duterte "will continue even if we withdraw. Tapos na 'yung boksing doon sa case na 'yun eh."

According to Article 127 of the Rome Statute, any withdrawal from the ICC "shall not affect any cooperation with the Court" on matters connected to criminal investigations and proceedings that the state was duty-bound to cooperate in before the date of effectivity of the withdrawal.

"...nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective," the provision states.

The President had repeatedly said the ICC had no jurisdiction over him, with Malacañang arguing that the court may only exercise jurisdiction if the country's courts are unable or unwilling to hear cases related to drug-related killings and that the war on drugs is a sovereign act.

Duterte also said that the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, is not enforceable in the Philippines.

"Under our law, particularly the new Civil Code, a law shall become effective only upon the publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Devoid of the legal required publication, the Rome Statute is ineffective and unenforceable," the President said in a statement.

"The effectivity of the Rome Statute which is 60 days after the submission by a signatory state of its ratification to the Secretary General as provided thereto cannot prevail our law. An international law cannot supplant, prevail or diminish a domestic law," he added.

La Viña called this a "funny argument," explaining that the ICC is, in fact, complementary in nature.

"In the first place, wala pa namang desisyon ang ICC whether to charge him or not, so that's premature to say that. In the second place, it's not fraudulent. It's very specific in the provision of the ICC," he said. —with reports from Nicole-Anne Lagrimas and Virgil Lopez/JST, GMA News

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