ICC investigators may be denied entry to PH —DOJ exec

The Philippine government might prevent International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators from coming into the country in relation to their probe on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, according to a top official of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

During the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, DOJ Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said that since the Philippines has withdrawn from the treaty that created the ICC, “lahat ng options ay nasa Executive Department natin.”

Vasquez said that among the options is for the government to prohibit ICC investigators from entering the country.

“Pwede hindi na sila papasukin, outright confrontation,” the DOJ official said.

However, he said that “they can be accepted, they can be allowed subject to limitations.”

On Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines is “done talking with the ICC” as the alleged crimes related to the drug war were committed in the Philippines and therefore should be investigated in the country. 

Vasquez said that the decision on what to do with the ICC investigators is still up to the President, being the country’s chief policymaker.

“Sa ngayon ang desisyon niya ay hindi na makipag engage sa ICC… That means to say we won’t coordinate, we won't allow them to come here as ICC,” the DOJ official said.

On Tuesday, judges in the ICC's Appeals Chamber rejected the Philippine government's appeal against the probe into the alleged crimes against humanity committed under the war on Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra had said that the Philippines could no longer file an appeal with this decision.

Under the drug war, at least 6,200 suspects were killed in police operations based on government records. Human rights groups, however, claimed the actual death toll could be from 12,000 to 30,000.

In 2019, the Philippines, under then-President Rodrigo Duterte, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal began a preliminary probe into his administration’s drug war, followed by the launch of a formal inquiry later that year. Marcos had ruled out rejoining.

In 2021, the Supreme Court (SC) said the Philippines has the obligation to cooperate with the ICC despite its withdrawal from the Rome Statute.

Guevarra, who has met with Marcos, earlier said the Appeals Chamber will be the Philippine government’s last coordination with the international court.

Instead, Guevarra said, the government "will focus on its own investigation and prosecution of crimes in relation to the drug war."

Several government officials have also spoken against cooperating with the ICC, including Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, who advised Duterte and Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa to refrain from visiting countries that could be influenced by the ICC.

Remulla, however, said having a dialogue with ICC is still possible, as long as they do not intervene with the country’s affairs.

Duterte and Dela Rosa, the chief of the Philippine National Police under the Duterte administration, were both mentioned in the ICC prosecutor’s report on the killings. —VAL, GMA Integrated News