President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is open to discussing the possibility of the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC), but the matter has yet to be formally tackled within his administration, Malacañang said on Tuesday, June 18.
“The President is open to talking about it,” said Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Juan Carlos Castro, when asked whether the country is reconsidering its 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC. The comment comes amid renewed calls from human rights groups and United Nations experts for the Philippines to rejoin the ICC, particularly as the court continues to investigate alleged crimes committed under the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war.
Castro clarified that discussions on the ICC are not on the table yet. “At this point, it’s not being discussed. But the President has said, we’re open to talks,” he added. The ICC formally authorized the resumption of its probe into the Philippines last year, despite opposition from the Marcos administration, which has consistently argued that the country’s justice system is functioning. | via Dann Miranda | Photo via PCO
#D8TVNews #D8TV
