THE Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) on Thursday backed the United States government’s initiative to “dismantle” what it described as the threat posed by the International Criminal Court (ICC), while urging the Marcos administration not to rejoin the Rome Statute.
In a statement issued on July 16, PDP Deputy National Spokesman Ferdinand Topacio said the party believes the ICC has overreached its mandate by intervening in criminal cases that should fall under the jurisdiction of sovereign states with functioning judicial systems.
Topacio argued that the ICC has become “a threat to the sovereignty of all nations,” accusing the tribunal of interfering in the internal affairs of independent countries despite the existence of operational national judicial systems.
The PDP also said the ICC has been “weaponized” by countries seeking to undermine the sovereignty of other nations, and said the tribunal’s actions run contrary to principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Topacio urged the Marcos administration to distance itself from the tribunal and abandon any plan to rejoin the Rome Statute.
“The PDP calls on the Marcos Government... to refrain from making the mistake of rejoining the said treaty, and to dissociate itself in every manner from the ICC,” he said.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the ICC, in 2019 during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, after the tribunal opened a preliminary examination into his controversial campaign against drugs.
Although the country’s withdrawal took effect in March 2019, the ICC maintains it retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while the Philippines was still a state party to the Rome Statute.
