janimonow posted: " In a recent statement, Franklin Drilon, a seasoned politician and former Senate President, clarified that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. holds the unilateral authority to decide on the nation's re-engagement with the International Criminal C" THE MANILA JOURNAL
In a recent statement, Franklin Drilon, a seasoned politician and former Senate President, clarified that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. holds the unilateral authority to decide on the nation's re-engagement with the International Criminal Court (ICC), independent of legislative approval. This announcement came in response to Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa's previous assertion that Senate agreement was necessary for such a move.
Drilon highlighted the legal foundation of this presidential prerogative, pointing out that an existing Senate resolution, ratified under former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's tenure in 2011, endorsing the Philippines' membership in the ICC, still holds legal force. This resolution, linked to the Rome Statute that establishes the ICC, has not been revoked or superseded, thereby enabling the President to rejoin the ICC based solely on executive action, without necessitating fresh legislative endorsement.
This discourse gains significance in the backdrop of former President Rodrigo Duterte's 2019 withdrawal of the Philippines from the ICC, amidst investigations into his administration's controversial anti-drug campaign, which officially accounted for over 6,000 deaths but is speculated by rights groups to be substantially higher. Drilon's argument draws parallels with Duterte's handling of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, which Duterte had terminated and then reinstated, both actions taken without legislative involvement. Drilon's perspective resonates with the Supreme Court's stance that presidential treaty withdrawals do not mandate Senate concurrence unless explicitly required.
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