Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the International Criminal Court may issue an arrest warrant against Philippine government officials, but its enforcement is another matter.
“That’s why the cooperation of the Philippine government is crucial,” the chief state lawyer told reporters Thursday, Feb.1.
Guevarra explained that the issuance of a warrant is based on the ICC pre-trial chamber’s assessment on the existence of a reasonable ground that a person has committed a crime.
He said the ICC prosecutor must investigate evidence that is both “incriminating and exonerating.”
“In other words, his investigation must be free from bias and prejudice; otherwise, it is insufficient for the issuance of a warrant,” Guevarra pointed out.
The Solicitor General was commenting on whether the ICC may issue an arrest warrant against Vice President Sara Duterte and other Philippine officials.
Former Davao Senior Police Officer Arturo “Arthur” Lascañas, an alleged member of the original Davao Death Squad, recently accused the Vice President of orchestrating “Oplan Tokhang” in Davao City during her sting as mayor in 2012.
He said he submitted a 186-page affidavit to the ICC, which contains information on the alleged extrajudicial killings perpetrated by former President Rodrigo Duterte and the involvement of his daughter Sara in Davao City.
The Vice President previously said she will only face accusations linking her to the DDS before a Philippine court. She denied involvement with the infamous squad and said her name was dragged into it after winning the vice-presidential race.
However, Guevarra pointed out that the government’s legal position on non-cooperation with the ICC has not changed. “It is not affected by the winds of politics,” he said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla reiterated his position on the matter, saying “we always reiterate that our justice system is working and capable of addressing internal issues without external interference. The Philippines is no longer a state party from the ICC Rome statute.”
The Department of Justice previously stressed that foreign entities must first obtain the approval of several government agencies before conducting official activities within the Philippines.
In 2019, the Philippines, under then-President Duterte, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal began a probe into the drug war, followed by a formal inquiry in September 2021.
Though President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated in November 2023 that returning to the ICC’s fold is under study, he recently stated that ICC is a threat to Philippine sovereignty. He also reiterated that he does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction over the country.