ICC withdrawal a logical move – analyst

THE Philippines’ move to withdraw from the International Criminal Court ( ICC) is a logical decision on the part of President Rodrigo Duterte, who believes that the court is being used by his detractors who want to oust him, a political analyst said.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, said the administration was merely reacting to the actions of Duterte’s political enemies to use human rights issues to destabilize the government.

“It is going to that direction, a destabilization campaign leading to his ouster, and if that will be the case then the frame of mind of the President is to stop it because he has the mandate,” Casiple said in an interview.

The political analyst said those who filed the cases against Duterte at the ICC were connected with the opposition.

Casiple was referring to the communication filed by lawyer Jude Sabio and the supplemental complaint filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th and party- list Rep. Gary Alejano. Duterte was accused of mass murder through his bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

Casiple said the petitioners took their case to the ICC without exhausting all legal means available in the Philippines.

Another factor that may have prompted the President to withdraw from the ICC was the belief that some countries may be involved in the propaganda against Duterte.

“Given that context, the President’s decision was logical,” Casiple said.

He said the Philippines cannot be faulted for its decision because other countries, including the United States, were not even a party to the Rome Statute.

In fact, he said, among the issues hounding the ICC is its inability to investigate and hear cases of countries where incidents of genocide were rampant.

“The problem of ICC is that many are questioning why the court seems to only go after third world countries,” he added.

Casiple said it is unlikely that Duterte’s decision will have a negative impact on foreign investments.

He said some foreign investors do not care about political issues and are more concerned about the economic policy and the assurance that these policies would stay.