Fact check: ICC can't 'oust' Marcos from presidency
MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court cannot summarily oust President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as the Philippines effectively left the international tribunal in 2019 and there were no previous cases filed against him, contrary to a claim by a Facebook blogger.
The international court also cannot remove Marcos from the presidency similar to the People Power revolution of 1986, which a blogger alleged, as it is not within the powers of the international court or any court to trigger mass demonstrations.
CLAIM: Facebook page and blogger "Aratiles Real Talk" said in a Facebook livestream on February 18 that the ICC is “like a new form of People Power” which critics of the government will use to oust Marcos from office.
RATING: This is false.
FACTS: The Philippines withdrew its ratification of the Rome Statute in 2018 and effectively left the ICC on March 16, 2019. This means the court has no jurisdiction over crimes that took place in the Philippines after said date.
Marcos took his oath of office — and began his term as president — on June 30, 2022. This means any actions he has taken as president cannot be prosecuted by the court.
What the video says
In a Facebook livestream on February 18, beginning at the 13:33 mark, blogger “Aratiles Real Talk” said that the ICC case on the Duterte administration's bloody "war on drugs" is a “testing ground” for removing presidents.
“If they can do that to Duterte, that will be like a new People Power,” the blogger claimed.
The blogger also alleged that a tweet by columnist Antonio Montalvan, who said that the term of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was “marked by a high number of (extra-judicial killings)" and that she also "needs to be haled to the ICC,” was evidence of a plot hatched by supporters of former Vice President Leni Robredo to file a case against Arroyo and Marcos.
“Once we enter into this, how can you say that a case won’t be filed against President Marcos?” said the blogger.
“We are protecting our institutions. When will we oppose this? When we’ve lost two? Three? We shouldn’t tolerate (a case against) just one president. That’s what happened at the EDSA revolution,” the blogger added.
Screengrab by Philstar.com, February 21, 8:12 a.m.
What the video left out
According to the ICC’s official website, it is a court of last resort that conducts judicial proceedings against individuals charged with "the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression."
The ICC had no hand in the mass demonstrations that took place during the EDSA Revolution in 1986 where millions of Filipinos voluntarily took to the streets to oust the late dictator and the current president’s father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The three-day People Power was also triggered after suspicions of electoral fraud during the 1986 snap presidential election, as well as two decades of presidential rule marked by widespread corruption and human rights violations.
The Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court was also adopted in 1998 — at least 12 years after the EDSA revolution.
Duterte was also not ousted from presidency, but he actually finished his term.
READ: Duterte, infamous for deadly drug war, ends term
Essential context
The ICC Pre-trial Chamber on January 26 cleared the path for its prosecutors to resume its probe into the Duterte administration's bloody "war on drugs."
On February 3, the government filed a notice of appeal against the ICC decision that authorized ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to proceed with the preliminary investigation.
Marcos, Duterte and several government officials have repeatedly — and erroneously — claimed that the ICC has no jurisdiction over allegations related to the war on drugs, which took place before the Philippines revoked its membership from the Rome Statute. Marcos has also said the alleged intrusion of the court would threaten the country's sovereignty.
Arroyo led the filing of a resolution at the House of Representatives on February 16 to declare an "unequivocal defense" of Duterte from being investigated by the international court. Sen. Robinhood Padilla followed suit with his own resolution at the upper chamber on Monday.
Why does this matter?
The Facebook video has reached nearly 9,000 views, 900 reactions and 50 shares as of February 21.
The ICC’s right to conduct its proceedings in the Philippines have also been repeatedly challenged by officials from both the current and former administration.
False claims related to the powers of the ICC could give rise to confusion and fearmongering over a legitimate independent judicial institution mandated to fight impunity on an international scale.
Lawyers for the relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings and human rights advocates have expressed hope that the ICC probe would identify those guilty of perpetrating crimes while carrying out the Duterte administration’s violent anti-narcotics campaign.
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