Lacson says he's open to letting Philippines rejoin ICC if elected

Presidential aspirant and Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Thursday said he is open to allowing the Philippines rejoin in the International Criminal Court (ICC), if he wins in the May 2022 national elections.

Pressed at a virtual briefing if he is willing to let the Philippines "go back" to the Rome Statute and rejoin the ICC, Lacson answered in the affirmative, but said the matter must be discussed with the country's foreign policy advisers.

"The answer is yes kasi diyan na tayo nagsimula at, well, kailangan itong ikonsulta sa ating foreign policy managers or advisers. But initial reaction ko is yes. Kasi 'yan ang court para sa mga powerless, sabihin na natin," Lacson said.

(My answer is yes, but this should still be consulted with our foreign policy advisers. My initial reaction is yes because the ICC is a court for the powerless, so to speak.)

"Yes, we should go back to the Rome Statute. But again, kailangan alamin natin kasi kulang pa tayo sa datos, ano ba 'yung ... mapapangalagaan sa national interest kung babalik tayo ... ano rin 'yung advantages," Lacson added. 

(We should go back to the Rome Statute. But again, we need to study first because we still lack data. We need to determine what will be the gains to our national interest if we do so.)

The Philippine government decided to leave the ICC in 2018 after the court's Office of the Prosecutor said that it would examine the allegations against President Rodrigo Duterte and his controversial drug campaign.

In September of this year, the ICC authorized the start of its investigation into the killings in the Philippines' war on drugs. However, the Duterte administration maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the country because of the withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

On the other hand, Lacson's running mate in the 2022 polls, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, expressed his belief that  prevention and rehabilitation is more effective in addressing the drug menace than the present measure that is being anchored on prosecution and law enforcement.

"We will not be ika nga, putting enforcement and prosecution to the back burner. It's still there but ika nga 'yung tinatawag na nasa lugar," Sotto said.

NPC endorsement

In the same briefing, Sotto was asked if the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) already decided on who they will endorse for president in the coming elections.

Sotto expressed confidence that the majority of the members would back their tandem, but the matter will still be discussed with other NPC leaders by next week.

"At the moment, I'm very confident that majority of our members will support us. But to have it officially declared, we are in the process of doing it," Sotto said. —LBG, GMA News