Romualdez to back President’s stand on whether or not to rejoin ICC

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands hands down its decision that rejected an appeal by Philippine government to block an investigation by the tribunal’s prosecutors into the war on drugs launched by former President Rodrigo Duterte. (File photo / Screen grab from ICC)

MANILA, Philippines — House of Representatives will heed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. decision on whether or not the country will reinstate the country’s membership in the International Criminal Court.

“We will take it as is. We will follow. We will follow the policies,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez said in an ambush interview in Pasay city.

Marcos said government is studying the proposal for the country to rejoin the ICC.

He made this statement as House of Representatives started tackling measures urging government to cooperate with ICC representatives.

The ICC personnel are investigating the war on drugs launched by former President Rodrigo Duterte.

House Committee on Justice and House Committee on Human Rights met on Wednesday to deliberate on House Resolution (HR) Number 1393 and 1477 that were filed separately by five lawmakers.

Romualdez said, “(But) what you heard is just the sense of some of the congressmen. We will still deliberate (House resolutions) on that.”

The Speaker has not issued any directive to prioritize the matter, according to a statement from House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Congressman Manuel Jose Dalipe.

“As Chair of the Committee on Rules, I know for a fact that there is no instruction from the Office of the Speaker that requires us to give special attention to the House Resolution seeking our cooperation with the ICC,” Dalipe said.

“This will be treated like all other House Resolutions, but we have to respect the autonomy of the legislative process and the necessity for adherence to established procedures,” he added.

Duterte’s war on drugs reportedly led to about 6,000 deaths, according to government records.

On the other hand, human rights watchdogs and ICC estimated the death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.

In March 2018, then-President Duterte withdrew Philippines’ membership in the Rome Statute that established ICC.