ICC treaty must be published in gov’t publication, Duterte insists

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday again stressed that since the Rome Statute was not published in the government's publication when the Senate ratified it, then it is not binding and the Philippines does not have to wait a year to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

The Rome Statute is the treaty that created the ICC. The Senate ratified it in 2011, making the Philippines a state party to the treaty and a member of the tribunal.

However, in his speech during the commencement exercises of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Alab Tala Class of 2018, Duterte said that the Statute is not enforceable in the country as it was not published in the Official Gazette, the government's publication.

"If you read the treaty, it's all bull...It is clearly a criminal law. If you read it, there is the commissioning of the ICC, the judges, then the ICC prosecutor and the definition of the crimes and the penalty attached to the crimes. Our rule in this jurisdiction is i-publish mo talaga para hindi maignorante 'yung tao. If it is not published, you cannot tell me now that ignorance of the law," Duterte said.

He said that the administration at the time bypassed publishing the statute.

"Ang mga gago, pinirmahan ng Presidente, niratify ng Senate, dumeretso sa Rome agreement at inattach na nila ang membership natin without passing the critical publication," he said.

Last week, Duterte announced that he is taking the Philippines out of the Hague-based tribunal, saying there have been “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous" attacks against him and his administration and criticizing the attempt of the ICC prosecutor to place him under the tribunal’s jurisdiction.

His announcement came after the ICC said last month that it would begin the preliminary examination of a complaint filed against Duterte that accuses him of crimes against humanity due to the deaths in the administration's war on drugs.

International advocacy group CenterLaw has disputed Duterte's claim that the Rome Statute is not binding in the Philippines.

"There is no further requirement of publication in any newspaper of general circulation to make the treaty binding upon the Philippines, as the President contends," it said in a statement.

According to CenterLaw, citing Article VII Section 21 of the Constitution, as well as expert Antonio La Viña, the treaty was as good as domestic law when the Senate concurred with it.

"This is a point well established in our constitutional jurisprudence as the 'doctrine of transformation,'" it said.

No one-year wait?

The President also argued that if the Rome Statute is unenforceable, then there is no reason that the country's withdrawal from the ICC will only be effective after a year, which some lawmakers have pointed out is stated in the treaty.

"Sabi naman nitong isang mga ugok... mga senador pa, it would take one year para mageffect ang withdrawal... sus nako ewan kung saan tayo aabot nito," Duterte said.

"If it is not published, there is no law. So there is no reason to withdraw something that is not existing," he said.

The government has formally notified the ICC regarding Duterte's decision.

On Saturday, the ICC's legislative arm expressed its intention to hold a dialogue with the Philippine government on the matter.

O-Gon Kwon, president of the international court's Assembly of States Parties, stressed that the Philippines' withdrawal may have a negative effect on the battle against impunity.

But earlier this day, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar remarked that Duterte's decision is already final. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News