(Eagle News)–The Palace on Monday, March 18, dismissed as “baseless” and “amusing” the criticisms against the Philippines withdrawal from the International Criminal Court.
“We find amusing the myriad of misleading and baseless response to the supposed withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute which created the (ICC), ranging from Amnesty International’s remarks that the action is a ‘futile attempt to evade international justice’ to party-list Gabriela’s statement that the move could ‘sound off a nastier wave of rights abuses, including red-tagging of Duterte critics,'” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
Panelo also said the Commission on Human Rights and the Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court “add to the conspiratorial chorus by saying ‘it is impunity that wins’ and ‘those who kill with impunity will only be further emboldened.'”
He said there was no impunity under the Duterte administration, and that the country’s criminal justice system was still operational and complies with the constitutional requirement to due process.
“The scores of dead policemen and serious injuries to the hundreds of men in uniform are grim testimonials to the reality that those involved in the drug cartel will not allow themselves to be arrested or captured alive,” he said.
Panelo urged the critics to file the necessary charges as “failure to undertake this process can only mean that they are engaged in conjectures and politicizing the matter to the advantage of drug personalities and criminals.”
The Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC became final on Sunday, March 17, a year after the country informed the United Nations of its decision.
The Palace has argued the Rome Statute which creates the ICC never took effect in the country as it was never published in a newspaper of general circulation nor the Official Gazette, which is required of any law.
