Pimentel urges Marcos anew: Let Philippines rejoin ICC

FILE PHOTO: View of the ICC, the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. – Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urges President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. anew to let the Philippines rejoin the ICC: “Let us rejoin the ICC. We should treat this as our ‘insurance policy’ just in case our system fails us and we get to elect an abusive, tyrannical, heartless leader, and our justice system fails us too.” (Associated Press Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. anew to let the Philippines rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a speech at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday, Pimentel said, “Let us rejoin the ICC. We should treat this as our ‘insurance policy’ just in case our system fails us and we get to elect an abusive, tyrannical, heartless leader, and our justice system fails us too.”

Pimentel led the inquiry of the Senate blue ribbon committee into the brutal “drug war” of the previous Duterte administration last October 28.

The Senate investigation followed revelations at the House of Representatives, which Quad Committee is investigating the controversial war on drugs and alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration.

During the House Quad Committee’s Oct. 11 hearing, retired police colonel Royina Garma implicated Duterte and his aide-turned-lawmaker, Senator Christopher “Bong” Gom in an alleged reward system for police officers who killed drug suspects.

On Nov. 4, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the upper chamber was open to providing the ICC a transcript of its probe into the Duterte administration’s drug war.

READ: Senate willing to certify drug war probe transcript for ICC inquiry

On rejoining the ICC, Pimentel added that “the ball was in President Marcos’ court.”

In 2022, Pimentel urged Marcos to reapply for ICC membership, saying there was “nothing to fear” about the court and that the global tribunal should be an “available remedy” for Filipinos.

Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, after the court launched its preliminary probe into alleged killings during his administration.

When President Marcos took office in 2022, he said there was “no intention” to rejoin the ICC, noting that the country was already investigating alleged crimes in his predecessor’s anti-drug campaign.

READ: Duterte tells Senate: I have a death squad

In 2023, Marcos said proposals to reenter the ICC were “under study” amid speculations of widening rift between him and Vice President Sara Duterte, his running mate in the 2022 elections and daughter of the former president.