PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not changed his position on keeping the Philippines out of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Malacañang said Tuesday.
“The president’s stance has not changed. We will still not rejoin the ICC,” said Palace Press Officer Claire Castro in an interview with reporters in New York.
Asked for a reason, the Palace official said, “That’s the only statement the president told me.” The Philippines cut its ties with the ICC on March 17, 2019, a year after the country formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the Rome Statute.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte ordered the withdrawal in 2018 following the international tribunal’s preliminary investigation into his drug war.
Duterte is currently at the ICC Detention Center in The Hague, Netherlands, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity in connection with his bloody war on drugs in which thousands of suspects were killed.
In 2024, Marcos said that the Philippines was studying whether it could rejoin the ICC and what the country’s options were. However, since then, there has been no further discussion on the matter.
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co earlier filed House Resolution (HR) 809 urging the Philippine government to rejoin the ICC and sign the Rome Statute again.
The Makabayan lawmakers said such a move would send a “clear and strong message that the Philippines honors its international obligations, respects the sanctity of life, and is committed to breaking the cycle of impunity and state violence.” “Re-engagement with the ICC would strengthen the country’s global reputation as a rights-respecting democracy, restore international confidence in the Philippines’ legal system and bolster partnerships rooted in justice, good governance, and the rule of law,” the Makabayan bloc said.
The opposition party-list Akbayan hit the president’s “reluctance” to rejoin the ICC.
In a statement, Akbayan president Rafaela David said it was a “policy of trying to appease everyone.” “On the ICC, Marcos Jr. is trying to appease both (Rodrigo) Duterte loyalists at home and the international community abroad. But this double game will fail. His attempt to please everyone comes at the expense of justice and will end up pleasing no one,” David said.
“There is only one true side on this matter; the side of justice,” she added.
David also said that the president cannot claim to “respect justice,” while also refusing the country’s membership in the ICC.
“That contradiction is becoming clearer by the day,” she said.
