The Philippines announced its intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute on March 14, 2018, about a month after the ICC launched a preliminary investigation into the situation in the country. The withdrawal was finalized a year later, on March 16, 2019. Since the Philippines is no longer a state party to the Rome Statute, the investigation will only cover the period when the treaty was in force in the country—between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019. The Supreme Court of the Philippines, in a 2021 ruling, commented on the withdrawal and stated that the Philippines still has an obligation to cooperate in the ICC proceedings.
During an October 2016 Philippine Senate inquiry into extrajudicial killings, opposition Senator Leila de Lima presented a witness, Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed former member of the DDS;[4] Matobato testified that the DDS was taking orders from Duterte and claimed that Duterte himself, while he was still mayor of Davao City, had killed a member of the Department of Justice with an Uzi submachine gun.[5] Duterte dismissed Matobato's claims as a lie,[4] and the Senate probe was terminated on October 13, 2016, for lack of evidence.[6] Arturo Lascañas, a retired police officer who initially denied being a member of the group in the Senate hearing, retracted his statement a year later, backed up Matobato's accusations, and admitted to killing 200 people as a DDS member, claiming that they "were motivated by the reward system ... when a killing is ordered and there's a price".[7][8][9]
A day after the 2016 presidential election, presidential forerunner Duterte said, "I will be a dictator [...] but only against forces of evil – criminality, drugs and corruption in government", and vowed that if he failed to fulfill his promise to end crime, corruption, and drugs within the first six months of his term, he would step down from the presidency.[10] On July 1, the day after the inauguration of Duterte as president, the Philippine National Police (PNP) launched Project Double Barrel, marking the beginning of the Philippine drug war.[11]
From his presidential campaign to the end of his presidency, President Duterte made multiple remarks to kill criminals and drug syndicates. He has also given law enforcers "shoot-to-kill" orders for criminals and drug syndicates, further assuring their protection from prosecution and would go to jail for them.[12]
By the end of Duterte's term, the number of drug suspects killed since Duterte took office was officially tallied by the Philippine government as 6,252.[13] Human rights groups, including the ICC, however, claim drug casualties reached as high as 12,000 to 30,000[14] and the killings reached their peak between 2016 and 2017.[15][16]
History
On October 13, 2016, about four months into the Philippine drug war, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda expressed deep concern over reports of extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers and users in the Philippines, stating that the ICC would be "closely following developments" in the country to assess whether to open a preliminary examination if necessary.[17] The following month, on November 17, President Duterte threatened to follow Russia's lead[a] by withdrawing the Philippines from the ICC, which he called "useless" in Filipino.[18][19]
On April 27, 2017, Filipino lawyer Jude Sabio submitted a 77-page document to the ICC titled "The Situation of Mass Murder in the Philippines", requesting charges of mass murder and crimes against humanity against President Duterte and 11 other officials.[20][21] Similarly, then-Senator Antonio Trillanes and members of the Magdalo Party-List, led by then-Representative Gary Alejano, filed a 45-page supplemental complaint requesting charges of crimes against humanity in addition to the earlier filing by Sabio.[22] However, in January 2020, Sabio retracted his allegations and requested the ICC to dismiss the charges, claiming that his 2017 case was an orchestrated move by the Liberal Party, particularly Senators Antonio Trillanes and Leila de Lima, to discredit Duterte.[23] The ICC rejected Sabio's request, stating that it "cannot effectively destroy or return information once it is in its possession or control".[24]
On August 28, 2018, activists and families of eight victims of the Philippine drug war, led by the National Union of People's Lawyers, submitted a 50-page document to the ICC.[25] This was followed up by two supplemental pleadings, filed in October 2018 and October 2019, respectively.[26]
Inquiries on the drug war were held by the House of Representatives' Quad Committee and the Senate Blue Ribbon sub-committee in October 2024. Duterte attended the Senate inquiry and transcripts from the hearings was later submitted to the ICC by Duterte's staunch critic, former Senator Antonio Trillanes.[27][28]
The Philippines signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on December 28, 2000, and ratified it on August 30, 2011. The treaty came into force in the country on November 1, 2011.[30] On March 14, 2018, a month after the ICC opened a preliminary investigation into the situation in the Philippines, President Duterte said in a statement that "the Philippines is withdrawing its ratification of the Rome statute effective immediately".[31][32] Duterte rebuked the idea of permitting foreigners to interfere in the country's justice system and his administration emphasized that cases against him should be filed before the national courts;[33][34] additionally, he argued that the Rome Statute, which was ratified by the Senate in 2011, was never binding in the Philippines as it was never published in the Official Gazette, a requirement for a law in the country to take effect.[35] However, in accordance with article 127 (1) of the treaty, the withdrawal shall only take effect "one year after the date of receipt of the notification".[36] Two days later, on March 16, the Philippines formally notified the secretary-general of the United Nations of its decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute.[37] The country officially left the ICC one year later, on March 17, 2019.[38]
The jurisdiction of the ICC investigation in the Philippines will be limited to the period when the country was a state party to the Rome Statute, between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, encompassing almost three years of Duterte's presidency, during which the Philippine drug war was at its height. The Philippine Supreme Court, in a 2021 ruling, commented on the withdrawal from the Rome Statute and stated that the Philippines still has an obligation to cooperate in the ICC proceedings.[39]
The administration of president Bongbong Marcos, which succeeded Duterte in June 2022, maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Philippines.[40] He argued that the Philippines has a "working justice system" and hence does not warrant a probe by the ICC.[41] This is despite the ICC meant to be complementary to domestic court systems and only prosecute cases only if "when States do not or are unwilling or unable to do"[42] Regardless, the government has allowed the ICC to conduct its investigation in the Philippines independently. Marcos stated the PNP acted on behalf on Interpol, which the Philippines is a member of, leading to Rodrigo Duterte's arrest in March 2025.[43][44]
In October 2024, former Senator Leila de Lima said that there is no legal obstacle to prevent the Philippine government's cooperation with the ICC citing Republic Act 9851 or the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity" including the surrender or extradition of accused persons "to the appropriate international court". The 2009 law came into effect two years before the Philippines ratified the Rome Statute.[45][46]
Investigation
On September 15, 2021, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I authorized the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation of crimes within the court's jurisdiction in the Philippines, spanning between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, before the Philippines withdrew from the ICC.[47]
In the same month, the government of the Philippines announced that it would not cooperate with the ICC on their investigation and would bar their investigators from entering the country.[48] However, by 2024, the government under the succeeding Bongbong Marcos administration stated that it could not prevent investigators from acting independently, despite the state's continued non-cooperation.[43][44]
Court proceedings
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Rodrigo Duterte appeared via video link at the ICC for the confirmation of charges hearing on March 14, 2025.[49][50] Duterte's camp made prior request to postpone Duterte's first appearance postponed which was rejected. Salvador Medialdea reiterated this request in his manifestation.[51]
The confirmation of the charges is scheduled on September 23, 2025.[52]Nicholas Kaufman will be the lead counsel of Duterte's defence team. Lawyers Harry Roque and Salvador Medialdea were initially selected to be supporting members of Duterte's defence team as well. However, Duterte's daughter and current Vice President Sara Duterte later stated that Roque and Medialdea would no longer be part of the defense team, which would instead be composed of foreign lawyers with experience in the ICC.[53][54][55]
↑ Panti, Llanesca (October 22, 2024). "De Lima: Gov't can't stop ICC from investigating Duterte's drug war". GMA News. Retrieved October 31, 2024. In the interest of justice, the relevant Philippine authorities may dispense with the investigation or prosecution of a crime punishable under this Act if another court or international tribunal is already conducting the investigation or undertaking the prosecution of such crime
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