The Supreme Court will hold oral arguments on the petition filed by opposition senators seeking to declare as invalid the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
In a media briefing, SC spokesman Theodore Te said that the Court has scheduled oral arguments for the petition on July 24, 2018 at 2 pm at the SC Session Hall.
Te said the ruling was adopted during the court en banc session Tuesday.
Besides setting the case for oral arguments, the high court also ordered the respondents—Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations Teodoro Lopez Locsin, Jr., and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel to comment on the petition within 10 days from notice.
The petition was filed by Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, and Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV.
In their petition, the senators said the Palace’s decision to withdraw its membership from the ICC should be considered invalid since it has no concurrence of at least two-thirds of all the 24 members of the Senate.
The petitioners insisted that the Office of the President and the DFA gravely abused their discretion in withdrawing the country’s membership in the ICC without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the Senate under Article VII, Section 21 of the Constitution.
They argued that the Rome Statute is a treaty validly entered into by the Philippines, which has the same status as a law enacted by Congress, thus, can only be withdrawn with the approval of Congress.
They also asked the Court to compel the DFA and the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations to notify the United Nations Secretary-General that it is revoking the notice of withdrawal that it received on March 17, 2018.
The diplomatic note stated that the “decision to withdraw is the Philippines’ principled stand against those who politicize and weaponize human rights, even as its independent and well-functioning organs and agencies continue to exercise jurisdiction over complaints, issues, problems and concerns arising from its efforts to protect the people.”
In withdrawing its membership from the ICC, the petitioners claimed that the respondents committed usurpation of legislative powers, which is punishable under the Revised Penal Code.
President Duterte announced on March 14, 2018 the Philippines’ withdrawal of its ratification of the Rome Statute, a United Nations (UN) treaty creating the ICC.
Duterte cited “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” against him and his administration by the ICC as the reason for his withdrawal as a state party.
The President maintained that he can order the country’s withdrawal from the ICC even without the Congress’ approval considering that the treaty is not a law since it was not published in the Official Gazette when the Philippines ratified it in August 2011, during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III.
