Palace insists Duterte can’t be tried at ICC as Sabio withdraws communication

Malacañang on Wednesday insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte cannot face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) following the withdrawal of one of the communications that linked him to crimes against humanity in connection with the war on drugs.

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor said on Tuesday that the decision of lawyer Jude Sabio to withdraw the communication would have no impact on the ongoing preliminary examination to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the matter and a full-blown investigation would serve the interests of justice and of the victims.

The prosecutor’s office also said that they are obliged to register whatever information they receive.

In response, Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the ICC must “wake up from its stupor if not ignorance.”

“It should realize by now that it is being used by disgruntled and discredited persons to advance their goal of besmirching the reputation of President Duterte and achieving their impossible dream of bringing down the Duterte presidency,” he said.

“More importantly, it should recognize the unalterable legal fact that it has no jurisdiction over the President, and for that matter, the Philippines.”

Duterte had repeatedly said that the ICC has no jurisdiction over him, arguing that the Rome Statute--the treaty that established the ICC-- is not enforceable in the Philippines because it was not published in a government publication or any commercial newspaper.

Malacañang also cited the principle of complementarity in which the ICC can only investigate allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes if the domestic courts are unable or unwilling to do so.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda started a preliminary examination of Sabio’s allegations in February 2018. Weeks later, Duterte announced the Philippines was withdrawing from the ICC. The exit took effect in March 2019 but the preliminary examination continued.

“That it continues to accept communications from entities and persons relative to complaints on human rights against Philippine President Duterte only demonstrates its continuing ignorance of the very source of its being,” Panelo said.

Sabio claimed he has withdrawn his communication because he did not want to be a part of the “political propaganda” of Senator Leila de Lima, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV and the Liberal Party.

“Put simply, the complaint against President Duterte, orchestrated by Trillanes, is part of the vilification campaign relentlessly pursued by the incorrigible detractors as well as the political opposition totally repudiated by the electorate,” Panelo said.

The Palace spokesperson surmised that Trillanes “must be squirming in his disgraced retirement by Sabio’s turnabout.”

“Lies can only be sustained for sometime. When conscience haunts and torments the peddler, it melts by the heat of truth,” Panelo said.

“Slowly but surely, the destabilizers of the Duterte administration are being undressed. Their obnoxious smell like ash fall pollute the air.” — RSJ, GMA News