Remulla on ICC case: How can they probe if we're not a member?

The Philippines is no longer a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and thus cannot be subjected to its investigation over the alleged killings linked to the Duterte administration's war on drugs, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said.

In the latest episode of The Mangahas Interviews, Remulla questioned the merit investigation considering the country has already exited the Rome Statute in May 2019.

“Unang-una hindi tayo member ng ICC. Nag-withdraw na tayo ng membership doon. ‘Yan po ay isang bagay na marahil ay ilalagay natin sa usapan sapagkat kung sila’y papasok sa ating bansa, anong papel nila para pumasok dito kung hindi na tayo kasapi sa International Criminal Court?” Remulla said in the latest episode of The Mangahas Interviews.

(First of all, we are not a member of the ICC. We withdrew our membership. That is one thing that maybe we should include in the discussion because if the ICC will come here, what is their right to do so when we are not part of the ICC?)

The ICC has stressed, however, that a country's withdrawal from the court "has no impact on on-going proceedings or any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective[.]"

The Philippines officially quit the tribunal in March 2019 after the international body pledged to pursue its examination of possible crimes in the government's deadly drug war.

"Kung tayo man ay magiging myembro niyan muli ay titingnan natin. Hindi natin alam ang magiging polisiya dito. Ang mahalaga, palakasin natin ang ating sariling judicial system at paandarin natin nang maayos ito," the Justice chief said.

(If we will become a member again, we should look into it carefully. We do not know what the policy will be. What is important though is we strengthen our own judicial system and make sure it runs well.)

"Ba't kailangan pang ibang tao ang maghari ito o kaya magpuna ng ating mga ginagawa? 'Di ba tayo naman ay may sistemang sarili upang mapatupad ang batas sa ating bansa? Kaya hindi ko muna isasama sa usapan ang ICC sapagkat unang-una hindi naman tayo miyembro ng ICC," he added.

(Why should other people take control or criticize what we do? Don't we have our own system of implementing our laws? That is why I will not include the ICC in the discussion because first of all, we are not a member of the ICC.)

Asked if it was possible to ignore the ICC when the supposed crimes happened between 2016 and 2019, before the Philippines withdrew its membership, Remulla replied, “I don’t want to belabor anything here. It’s just that you have to be part of the convention to be covered by the rules. As far as we’re concerned now, hindi tayo covered ng ICC kasi hindi tayo kasama sa convention ng ICC [we are not covered by the ICC because we are not a part of the convention of the ICC]."

Last month, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan requested a pre-trial chamber to authorize the resumption of the investigation after it was temporarily halted at the request of the Philippines, which vowed to conduct its own probe on the alleged human rights abuses committed by policemen and other state agents in carrying out the war on drugs.

“Notably, the Philippine government makes no reference at all to any investigation into crimes committed before July 2016, nor to any investigation into crimes other than murder—and, even then, only murders allegedly carried out in police operations, as opposed to murders allegedly carried out in other relevant circumstances,” Khan said in his 53-page request to the chamber.

“The Philippine government does not appear to be investigating whether any of the alleged crimes were committed pursuant to a policy or occurred systemically, or whether any person in the higher echelons of the police or government may be criminally responsible,” he said.

“For these reasons alone, the Court should not defer to the  Philippine government’s investigation,” he added.

The ICC approved the deferment of the probe in November 2021 — just two months after the Pre-Trial Chamber 1 granted in September 2021 then-Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda's June 14 request to probe crimes "allegedly committed on the territory of the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the so-called 'war on drugs campaign.'"

Comment on reopening probe

In an order dated July 14, the ICC called on the Philippines to provide observations on its request to reopen the investigation, giving the administration until September 8, 2022 to provide these observations, and requiring the ICC prosecutor to reply to these observations by September 22.

It also instructed its Victims Participation and Reparations Section (VPRS) to coordinate with victims and their legal representatives, and collect their views by September 8 and submit it by September 22. —LDF/KG/BM, GMA News