MANILA, Philippines — Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday said he will explain to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. the status of the Philippine government’s appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ultimately stop its investigation on the drug war killings.
Guevarra said he is sending a memo to the President to clarify that the government’s appeal has not been dismissed nor denied.
“Today, I am sending a memo for the President to explain to him the status of our appeal with the ICC Appeals Chamber. I’ll have to clarify with him that the appeal itself is still pending, it has not been denied, it has not been dismissed,” he said in an interview over ABS CBN News Channel.
“We are simply awaiting the resolution of that appeal, which we don’t know kung kailan talaga darating (when it will arrive),” Guevarra added.
He explained that what the ICC recently denied was the Philippine government’s request to “suspensive effect to the pendency of the appeal,” which means that it is requesting the court not to proceed with its investigation while the appeal is pending.
READ: ICC Appeals Chamber denies PH bid to suspend drug war probe
The Solicitor General said Marcos may have gotten the impression that the appeal itself was already dismissed since the ICC did not notify the government in advance of its decision.
“It came out in the website of the ICC ahead of any formal notification to us, so the media picked it up, and it came to the knowledge of the President, and somehow along the transmission of the information, the President might have gotten that it was the appeal itself that was dismissed,” Guevarra said.
He will make the clarification to the President after the latter said the Philippine government is “disengaging” from the ICC after its decision to suspend its probe into the drug war killings.
Guevarra earlier said the Philippines has no legal and moral duty to cooperate with the ICC on its investigation, describing it as an “indictment against our entire legal system,” as “it encroaches on our sovereignty as an independent and law-abiding nation.”
Guevarra served as the Justice Secretary under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being accused of crimes against humanity over his bloody anti-drug campaign.
READ: Philippines declares no moral duty to cooperate with ICC