Is House prioritizing ICC reso? Romualdez says it's what solons want

Speaker Martin Romualdez on Thursday refuted “speculations” that the House of Representatives is prioritizing the resolution urging the Marcos administration to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation on the deaths related to former President Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs.”

“This is what we call, this is the sense of the House of Representatives. There were succession of resolutions that are being filed… as a matter of course, we have to read out these bills and resolutions and we have to act on the same and we have to be sensitive, to be responsive sa mga hinaing ng ating mga kongresista (to the concerns of our members),” Romualdez said in a press conference during the 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF).

“We have to look at it one at a time and within the … context of the current events and that's where we leave it.  We don’t read much more into it than what other people do but nonetheless they are still entitled to their own views and even their speculations but we leave it at that,” he added.

The House top leader explained that whatever the chamber’s decision on the resolution would be, it would be reflective of the sentiments of its members.

“We just do it as a matter of course, but come what may, whatever outcome would be [is] what we call the sense of the House of Representatives on whatever it decides by a manner of vote,” he said.

Recently, House committee on human rights chairperson Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. of Manila filed House Resolution 1477, arguing that while the Philippine government already withdrew from being a party to the ICC in March 2019, the ICC and the Supreme Court in the Philippines have maintained that ICC has jurisdiction with respect to any alleged crimes against humanity perpetuated in the Philippines during the Duterte administration’s drug war.

In the same press conference, Romualdez refuted former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s allegations that the Speaker had “given his blessing” to the filing of the House resolution on the ICC probe and the alleged impeachment plot against Vice President Sara Duterte.

“Our good friend, former secretary Harry Roque must have thoughts, these ideas. We respect his thoughts and his ideas, but they are not accurate. So, I'll just put it to that. There’s nothing to it. All speculations, but none of that is true,” Romualdez said.

The House of Representatives earlier removed the confidential and intelligence funds of some civilian agencies under the 2024 proposed national budget including the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which are both under the leadership of Vice President Duterte.

This prompted former President Rodrigo Duterte, father of Sara, to lambast the House for being the most rotten institution, and that its members had bellies full of pork barrel—lump sum amounts that lawmakers may allocate to projects after the passage of the General Appropriations Act.

He also said he would be forced to run for either vice president or senator if his daughter gets impeached.—AOL, GMA Integrated News