House starts tackling reso urging govt to cooperate with ICC probe vs Duterte

THE House Committees on Justice and Human Rights yesterday began tackling two resolutions urging the Philippine government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in pursuing its investigation of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on illegal drugs.

Lawmakers opened the deliberations on House Resolution No. 1393 filed by the militant Makabayan bloc and HR No. 1477 filed by human rights panel chair Rep. Bienvenido Abante of Manila and Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider) last Monday, which calls on the Marcos Jr. administration “to extend their full cooperation to the ICC Prosecutor with respect to its investigation of any alleged crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC.”

The joint panel, however, later decided to defer the hearings pending the referral of Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman’s House Resolution No. 1482 which seeks to verify if the body has jurisdiction over the country since former Duterte ordered the country’s withdrawal from the ICC’s Rome Statute on March 17, 2018.

Lagman, a veteran lawyer-lawmaker, said it is essential for the joint panel to first “establish and confirm the verity” of some “factual and legal parameters” before tackling the resolutions.

He reminded the joint panel that the jurisdiction of the ICC over covered crimes committed in the Philippines took effect on November 1, 2011 after the Philippines acceded to the Rome Statute and the withdrawal became effective only a year after its filing, specifically on March 17, 2019.

Consequently, Lagman said the jurisdiction of the ICC on covered crimes committed in the Philippines spans the period from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.

Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano moved for the suspension of the deliberations to invite resource persons for further discussions and it was seconded by Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, the committee on justice vice chair.

“Now, Mr. Chairman, with that, I think it is just right and proper that we should invite authorized (persons) and get legal opinions to those resource persons that will be invited in the next hearing, particularly the Department of Justice and in fact, we should also invite a representative from the Supreme Court