VP Sara yet to talk with Marcos after his ‘change of position' on ICC probe

Vice President Sara Duterte said Tuesday she has yet to talk with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. after his supposed change of position when he said that returning under the fold of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is “under study.”

Duterte, however, said she discussed the matter with the President, along with his sister Senator Imee Marcos, before he left for the United States.

“Pagkatapos ng kanyang declaration, hindi pa kami nagkausap. Pero bago siya umalis papuntang [APEC] sa United States, nagkausap kami and isa ‘yan sa mga na-take up namin and narinig ko ‘yung sinabi niya sa declaration na narinig ko during our conversation,” she said in an ambush interview.

(After his declaration, we haven't talked yet. But before he left for APEC in the United States, we talked, and that was one of the things we took up and I heard what he said during our conversation.)

Lawmakers both in the Senate and House of Representatives have filed resolutions urging the Marcos administration to cooperate in the ICC investigation on the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the anti-drug campaign of then President Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President's father.

Following a resolution filed in the House, Marcos on Friday said that returning under the fold of the ICC is “under study” — a statement which appears to contradict his earlier pronouncement that he would not cooperate with the international court’s inquiry into the drug war implemented by his predecessor.

Sara Duterte on Monday said her camp will insist to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that the Philippines should not cooperate with the ICC probe.

But for House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers party-list Representative  France Castro, the Vice President’s insistence on not opening the country to ICC probers is proof that she does not care about law and order.

“Is she saying that the Supreme Court erred in saying that the Philippines is obliged to cooperate with the ICC? No one is above the law. Libu-libo ang pinatay sa drug on war ng tatay ni VP Duterte na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa nakakamit ang katarungan. Paano na sila?” Castro said.

(Thousands died due to the drug war of the Vice President’s father, and they are still seeking justice. What do we tell them then?)

“Are they refusing ICC cooperation because they are afraid that they will be implicated in said crimes?. It is only right that the Philippines return to ICC fold and it is good that the administration is already studying this option,” she added.

Castro said that without ICC, it will be a case of justice delayed, justice denied.

“Let us not deprive our fellowmen of the justice they so long for,” she said.—with Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News