Marcos told to rejoin ICC as PH marks 6th year of treaty pullout
To mark the sixth anniversary of the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute treaty, a human rights group urged on Monday, March 17, 2025, President Ferdinand Maros Jr. to rejoin the International Criminal Court. (Associated Press Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
MANILA, Philippines — To mark the sixth anniversary of the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, a human rights group urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC).
On March 17, 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. The withdrawal, however, took effect precisely a year later.
“The Philippines should rejoin the ICC,” Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay told INQUIRER.net in a message on X (formerly Twitter).
“Duterte’s self-serving decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute was an attempt to escape accountability in the face of the ICC’s initiation of investigations into the mass killings of drug suspects,” Palabay also said in a separate statement.
READ: Duterte’s arrest ‘pure, simple kidnapping,’ Medialdea tells ICC
Nevertheless, Palabay stressed that the country should still strengthen its justice system.
“While we seek legal redress in international mechanisms such as the ICC, it is important that we strengthen our ranks to change the system that serves as the bedrock of impunity,” she said.
READ: ICC sets Duterte confirmation of charges hearing Sept. 23
Despite Duterte’s withdrawal, the ICC retained jurisdiction over alleged crimes in the country from November 1, 2011, to March 16, 2019, or based on the period when the country was still a member.
This was the basis of the ICC’s arrest warrant against Duterte, who has been detained in The Hague, Netherlands, since his arrest on March 11.
READ: Honeylet on Duterte’s arrest: ‘He doesn’t deserve this’
“Duterte’s subsequent arrest and transfer to the ICC’s custody is the long overdue result of the people’s determined struggle for justice and accountability,” Palabay said.
The war against illegal drugs that took place during Duterte’s presidency claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data.
However, human rights watchdogs and the ICC prosecutor estimated the death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.
They said several of these incidents were extrajudicial killings.
