Senators ask court to let De Lima argue ICC petition

MANILA — Minority senators are backing detained Senator Leila De Lima’s plea to be allowed to argue their petition challenging the Philippines’ withdrawal of membership from the international tribunal before the Supreme Court.

Senators Francis Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, RisaHontiveros and Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday filed a manifestation with a motion asking the SC to grant De Lima’s earlier motion.

On June 27, De Lima sought a furlough from detention to be allowed to participate in the oral arguments. She is one of the petitioners who sought the nullification of the executive branch’s withdrawal of the country’s membership to the ICC due to a supposed lack of necessary concurrence from the Senate.

In the 17-page petition filed last month, the opposition lawmakers cited Article VII Section 21 of the 1987 Constitution which states that “entering into treaty or international agreement requires participation of Congress, that is, through concurrence of at least twothirds of all the members of the Senate.”

Although Senate concurrence is needed in the ratification of treaties, the Palace has argued that withdrawing from them is within the president's prerogative.

The senators, in their pleading before the SC, said that their arguments “will be best presented before [the] Honorable Court” by De Lima, who is being detained at the police’s headquarters in Quezon City over drug charges filed by the Department of Justice. —