Workers urge Marcos Jr. to accept ICC probe

MANILA, Philippines — Labor coalition Nagkaisa yesterday urged President Marcos to reconsider his decision not to cooperate in an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the bloody drug war of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte and to, instead, accept the probe as a necessity in upholding the rule of law.

“We hope that this administration will listen to our unsolicited advice and take the necessary actions to address this issue. It is only through accountability and justice that we can truly build a better society,” Nagkaisa said in a statement as it expressed concern over Marcos and other government officials’ declaration that the ICC probe is an “unwarranted and outrageous interference” into the country’s sovereignty.

The group believes that an ICC investigation in the country is not a violation of Philippine sovereignty but an exercise of its treaty obligation under the Rome Statute, which the Philippines ratified in 2011.

The Philippines, it added, needs to comply with its treaty commitment that “already forms part of our legal system despite the withdrawal in 2019.

“We are of the opinion the ICC’s investigation is not a threat to Philippine sovereignty. Rather, it will strengthen respect for human rights in the country as it is a legitimate exercise of the ICC of its mandate under the Rome Statute, to which the Philippines was once a signatory. It is also consistent with the country’s obligations under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969),” Nagkaisa said.

It also stressed that the ICC’s intervention does not mean the Philippine justice system is incapable of delivering justice.

“It only means that the ICC is stepping in, due to a special circumstance because the domestic justice system has failed to hold perpetrators accountable and provide justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings related to the anti-drug war,” the group claimed.