Drilon: SC recognized that President’s powers on foreign policy have limits

As far as Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon is concerned, the recent Supreme Court ruling in connection with the Philippines' withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) showed that there are limitations on the power of the President with respect to foreign policy.

Drilon made the remark after the high court dismissed the petitions challenging President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to withdraw the Philippines from the ICC, which is looking into allegations of abuse in his war on drugs.

“While the Supreme Court dismissed the petition questioning the validity of the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute for being moot and academic, the High Court acknowledged the limitations on the power of the President as chief architect of foreign policy,” Drilon said in a statement.

Drilon was among the opposition senators who filed the petition, along with Senators Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros, and Leila De Lima, and former Senators Bam Aquino and Antonio Trillanes IV.

According to the SC Public Information Office (PIO), the justices voted unanimously to junk the petitions for being moot. The Philippines formally exited the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, on March 17, 2019.

“The decision acknowledged that the President, as primary architect of foreign policy, is subject to the Constitution and existing statute,” the SC PIO said.

“Therefore, the power of the President to withdraw unilaterally can be limited by the conditions for concurrence by the Senate or when there is an existing law which authorizes the negotiation of a treaty or international agreement or when there is a statute that implements an existing treaty,” it added.

Drilon said this is a clear recognition that the power of the President regarding foreign policy has limitations.

“Most striking is the acknowledgement that the power of the President to withdraw ‘unilaterally’ can be subject to limitations by the Senate,” he added.

The Philippines’ decision to leave the ICC came shortly after the ICC Office of the Prosecutor said in February 2018 that it would examine drug war-related allegations against Duterte to determine if it has jurisdiction to investigate.

A group of opposition senators and the Philippine Coalition for the ICC then questioned the withdrawal before the SC, claiming it was unconstitutional because it lacked approval by the Senate.

The withdrawal, however, will not stop ongoing proceedings in relation to Duterte, which cover alleged incidents that occurred before the exit. — Erwin Colcol/RSJ, GMA News