DOJ chief: Persons charged by ICC must face international body

Manila Bulletin

While the government remains a non-member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla stressed that an individual charged by the international body would still fall under its jurisdiction through the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).  READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/3/20/doj-chief-persons-charged-by-icc-must-face-international-body  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00We are not members of the ICC, ma'am.

00:06So whatever relationship we have with the ICC is on an arm's length basis if we have

00:14to talk to them.

00:15But we have never spoken to them.

00:17I'm sorry, Secretary, I didn't hear you.

00:20Whatever relationship we have is on an arm's length basis, meaning very transparent if

00:24ever.

00:26But we have never spoken to them.

00:31Arm's length?

00:32Yes, ma'am.

00:33So you have had contact even at arm's length?

00:36No, ma'am.

00:37We do not have any contact.

00:38What we're saying is we are very transparent about what we do, and we have never had any

00:43contact with the ICC.

00:45So you uphold the statement of the President saying that the ICC has no jurisdiction here

00:51in the Philippines.

00:52Is that correct?

00:53No, ma'am.

00:54Jurisdiction of the ICC is throughout the world.

00:58We belong to a community of nations that is tied together by a legal system called international

01:05humanitarian law.

01:06It is something adopted by more than 150 countries in the world, international humanitarian law,

01:12which became a law in 2009 or 2010.

01:16And that law, that domestic law, is what we adhere to in this case.

01:22Are you referring to R.A. 9851?

01:25Yes, ma'am.

01:27Because you indicated the date of 2009.

01:30Is that correct?

01:31Yes, ma'am.

01:34So therefore, we are not members of the ICC?

01:36We are not members of the ICC since President Duterte withdrew our membership in 2018, effective

01:442019.

01:46Okay.

01:48That being the position of the DILG, I assume that Secretary Remulia in the DILG also maintains

01:55the same.

01:56Yes, ma'am.

01:57I defer to the wisdom of the Department of Justice.

02:04And the PNP, General Marbil, please.

02:08Yes, Madam Chair.

02:16If that is, therefore, an unqualified yes, and you are in agreement with the President

02:21that the ICC has no jurisdiction whatsoever, what was the DOJ referring to as the ICC's

02:33jurisdiction in the Philippines being different from us being a member?

02:37What is the distinction, please?

02:39Ma'am, the ICC tries people for individual crimes, not states.

02:45So the Philippines, as a state, cannot be called upon by the ICC to do something for

02:53them.

02:54But when the ICC is running after individuals who are Filipino citizens, then that obligation

03:00becomes another kind of obligation.

03:03So that, therefore, the Senate ratification of the ICC at the time that it was ratified

03:09is of no weight.

03:12Regardless, you will fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC, under the so-called international

03:17humanitarian law.

03:18Yes, yes, Madam.

03:19That is your belief, DOJ.

03:20Yes, Madam.

03:21When there are individuals being asked by the ICC to explain, it is another matter as

03:32a state is different from an individual.

03:35We all know that we have to, that the individuals being charged by the ICC will have to face

03:41the ICC.

03:43I'm perplexed.

03:45The DFA made it very clear that as we withdrew, we are no longer a state party to the treaty.

03:54And now you're saying that we can nevertheless fall under the ICC, under the generic rubric

04:02of international humanitarian law.

04:04So it doesn't matter whether you sign or do not sign, whether you ratify or do not ratify.

04:08Yes, Madam.

04:09It doesn't matter, Madam.

04:10It doesn't matter.

04:11It makes no difference.

04:12It doesn't make any difference anymore.

04:13Are you certain?

04:14I'm certain.

04:15Okay.

04:16Attorney Sarit, please, from DFA.

04:17Is that the position of the DFA?

04:19Madam Chair, I concur with my USEC, the current acting SFA, that as far as we are concerned,

04:29we are no longer members of the ICC, Madam.

04:32And as non-members, can we possibly fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC under the

04:40rubric of international humanitarian law?

04:43Is that correct?

04:44Yes, Madam, I think, because we, under the...

04:51What's the use of signing or ratifying a treaty if it bears no weight?

04:56I defer, Madam, to Secretary Mulya.

05:01I think it's your purview, your DFA.

05:04Yes, Madam.

05:05But yes, Madam, technically, we are no longer a member of the ICC, but we might be obligated

05:15under residual jurisdiction, as what the Supreme Court, in one case, already mentioned, that

05:22we still have residual jurisdiction.

05:26Thank you, Madam Chair.

05:31Madam Chair, if I may?

05:35I'm a little bit perplexed, given that you are part of the Executive.

05:41The President has said, as he said for the hundredth time, that we are not under the

05:45ICC.

05:46Why is the SOJ now saying that we are nevertheless, somehow, in some miraculous way, under the

05:56rubric of the international humanitarian law, still under its jurisdiction?

06:03Your Honor, it is not the Philippines that is under the jurisdiction.

06:08It is the individuals who are charged by the ICC, which is under the jurisdiction.

06:11There is a distinction, Madam.

06:14Please explain.

06:15As non-members of the ICC, and as a state, the ICC has no jurisdiction over us, as a

06:22country.

06:24But over the individuals who may have committed crimes that violate international humanitarian

06:28law.

06:29That is a universal value being held by the whole world today, that people cannot cross

06:36borders and hide behind boundaries, so that they can run away from the law.

06:42International humanitarian law is something adopted.

06:44The principles are adopted by more than 150 countries throughout the world, Your Honor.

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