Malacañang has clarified that there have been no discussions regarding the Philippines’ rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC), following the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte on charges related to crimes against humanity.
“There is no discussion on that,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said at a media briefing on Wednesday.
The Philippines formally withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019 following the ICC’s investigation into Duterte’s controversial war on drugs.
In the same media briefing, Castro dismissed Vice President Sara Duterte’s allegation that her father’s arrest constituted “state kidnapping”.
The Vice President had earlier argued that the arrest was unlawful, telling reporters, “Sinasabi ko sa inyong lahat Pilipino kayo huwag kayong pumayag na ang isang Pinoy ibigay sa mga dayuhan lalo na kapag labas na sa batas iyun. This is actually some sort of state kidnapping. Parang ganyan na nangyayari.”
“Papaano magiging kidnapping, eh may warrant of arrest,” Castro responded to the accusation.
On Tuesday evening, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed that the former president was being sent to The Hague to face charges related to extrajudicial killings in the drug war.
The ICC pre-trial chamber had found reasonable grounds to believe Duterte was “individually responsible” for crimes against humanity, particularly murder, as part of his government’s war on drugs campaign. This led to his arrest.