ICC is all about controlling, not justice

MANILA, Philippines — “ICC [International Criminal Court] is not all about justice. ICC is about control.”

This was the remark of reelectionist Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa during the senatorial face-off of GMA News on Saturday when asked if the senatorial aspirants are in favor of the Philippine reinstating its membership in the ICC.

Prior to this, senatorial aspirant and former Bayan Muna representative Teddy Casiño mentioned Dela Rosa and said that the justice system in the country has double standards. Dela Rosa was then asked to react to Casiño’s statement.

READ: Dela Rosa to Marcos: Stand your ground on ICC investigations

“Mabuti na lang, nakasuhan si Bato at si Duterte. At least kahit papano, may natakbuhan ’yung mga biktima (Good thing is that charges were filed against Bato and Duterte. At least, the victims had something to run into.),” Casiño said in the same face-off.

READ: Quad comm seeks crimes against humanity raps vs Duterte, Bato, Bong Go

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“They are about controlling all the member nations of the ICC,” Dela Rosa added.

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The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2018 shortly after the ICC launched a probe into the human-rights violations being committed during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug war campaign.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously said that he will not allow ICC to conduct probes on the country’s war on drugs.

Dela Rosa was previously named by the ICC as one of the five suspects behind the bloody drug war under the past administration of Duterte that claimed thousands of lives.

In December, the House of Representatives quad committee, probing illegal drugs and war on drugs, recommended filing of crimes against humanity complaints against Duterte, Dela Rosa, Sen. Bong Go, and other allies for their role in the extrajudicial killings in the drug war.