MANILA — Malacañang on Wednesday firmly denied accusations that the Marcos administration is using the International Criminal Court (ICC) to go after political opponents, insisting that any actions by the international tribunal stem from cases filed years before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assumed office.
The Palace issued the clarification after Davao City congressman Paolo Duterte claimed he received information from a “highly reliable source” that the ICC had supposedly issued a warrant of arrest against Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, a longtime aide of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Speaking in Kazan, Russia, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stressed that the government has no control over ICC proceedings and that the complaints being acted upon were initiated by Filipinos as early as 2017.
“Unang-una alam naman natin ‘yung ICC, korte ito. At meron namang kaso, may kaso na kapwa nating Pilipino ang nagsampa laban sa mga diumanong pang-aabuso patungkol sa EJK (extrajudicial killings). So, huwag natin kalimutan iyan,” Castro said.
Castro emphasized that any warrant or legal action issued by the ICC would be based on the court’s independent judicial process and not on directives from the Philippine government.
“At kung magkakaroon man po at mag-i-issue ng valid warrant of arrest, valid pa rin po yun. At meron lamang silang nais na mapanagot,” she added.
The Palace official noted that the cases involving former president Rodrigo Duterte and other respondents were filed in 2017—five years before Marcos assumed the presidency in 2022.
She also pointed to Republic Act No. 9851, which allows the Philippines to surrender or extradite suspects to an appropriate international court or another state in accordance with applicable laws and treaties.
Castro criticized what she described as efforts to politicize the ICC issue and portray the proceedings as a political tool of the current administration.
“So bakit ba lagi nating sinisisi ang korte? Sinisisi natin ng administrasyon? Huwag nating kalimutan na ‘yung kaso, nasampa ito 2017 pa. So hindi ito wine-weaponize, kinakailangan lamang po na matugunan din ang hiling ng mga kababayan natin,” Castro said.
She maintained that the focus should remain on accountability rather than political narratives.
“Kung may kailangan managot, dapat na managot. Kung kailangan may malinis na pangalan, malinis ang pangalan. Ang nangyayari po kasi dito, lagi na lang ginagamit itong issue na ito para pagalitin ang kapwa natin Pilipino at pag-usapan ang tungkol sa soberanya,” she said.
Castro added that the public has already witnessed how ICC-related arrest warrants are implemented, including efforts involving Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police during the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
However, she stressed that operational matters involving the execution of warrants and related legal procedures fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte remains detained at the ICC detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands, where he faces allegations of crimes against humanity linked to his administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign./PN
