Senator Francis Tolentino argued that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision in the case of Burundi, which was previously decided, should be used as a precedent for the ICC’s purported lack of jurisdiction in the Philippines.
Tolentino said that the ruling on the case filed by ICC prosecutors against Burundi in 2017 “was very explicit that the state has a duty to cooperate on cases which were commenced prior to the date when the withdrawal became effective.”
Tolentino, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, stated that the ICC’s decision regarding Burundi, which was also cited in the dissenting opinion by Presiding Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France and Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia, stated that while any prosecution or investigation should start before the date of the withdrawal’s effectiveness.
In the instance of Burundi, the withdrawal became effective only on October 27, 2018, a year after the said country withdrew from ICC.
Tolentino pointed out that the ICC investigation into the Philippines began only in 2021, which was two years after the Philippine government had withdrew from the international tribunal in March 2019. As a result, the case should no longer have any bearing on the Burundi case.
“So, lampas na talaga, we’re no longer a member of the Rome Statute and even the article 127 of the Statute would be interpreted in that manner,” he added.
In response to the International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber’s decision to continue its investigation into the anti-drug war campaign of the previous administration under former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra announced on Thursday that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had already agreed to completely disengage from the ICC.
According to Tolentino, President Marcos’ latest pronouncement is the proper thing to do since ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the Philippines following its withdrawal from the international tribunal.
