By Liezelle Soriano
MANILA — Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin stated on Monday (14 Oct 2024) that the Philippines will not rejoin the Rome Statute.
This announcement follows calls for the Marcos administration to submit information to the International Criminal Court (ICC) revealed during hearings in the House of Representatives related to the war on drugs.
The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC in The Hague.
Bersamin also mentioned that he does not expect the President’s stance on this matter to change.
“The Philippines will not return to the ICC,” he said.
“Based on this, the President is not expected to change his mind and refer the quadcomm matter to the ICC,” the Executive Secretary added.
It can be recalled that the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in March 2019, during the time of then President Rodrigo Duterte, chief architect of the bloody war on drugs where according to some report claimed at least 30,000 lives.
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