Trillanes: Duterte plan to have PHL withdraw from ICC treaty a “political move”

By Meanne Corvera
Eagle News Service

“A political move.”

This was how Senator Antonio Trillanes IV described on Wednesday President Rodrigo Duterte’s move to have the Philippines withdraw from the International Criminal Court treaty.

“Because he knows that there is no way out for him in the ICC,” Trillanes, who, along with Rep. Gary Alejano, filed the supplemental complaint against Duterte before the international court, said.

According to Trillanes, the withdrawal of ratification of the Rome Statute “has no legal effect on the cases already filed before” the ICC.

He said according to the Rome Statute itself, after all,  the “effectivity of the withdrawal is only a year after the notification.”

President Duterte has said this does not apply in the Philippines’ case as there “appears to be fraud” when the country ratified the treaty in the first place.

He said the Philippines, for instance, was made to believe that the principle of complementarity, among others, would be followed with the treaty’s ratification.

“Therefore, all his offenses committed as documented in the Atty. (Jude) Sabio communication, as well as our own communication, which I filed together with (Alejano), and offenses which he may yet commit up to a year from now are still covered by the ICC,” Trillanes alleged.

“Hindi niya ito kayang takutin gaya ng ginagawa nya sa mga korte natin,” he added.

According to Senate Majority Leader Franklin Drilon, the question on the effect of Duterte’s move will “ultimately be decided by the court itself.”

“Unfortunately the Senate has no say on the withdrawal,” he said.

It was Drilon who filed a resolution that would require the two thirds approval of the Senate in the termination or withdrawal of the country from international treaties.

But the Senate did not approve the resolution.