Golez: I agree with the President on his thoughts about the International Criminal Court or ICC. When I was in Congress, I opposed our ratification of the Rome Statute to become a member of the ICC. My principal reason was that members of the AFP and PNP could be hauled to the ICC and face a very expensive litigation process in the Hague in the performance of their anti-insurgency duties, harassed with cases of War Crimes under Article 8 for cases such as Inhumane treatment, Willfully causing great suffering, Destruction and appropriation of property, Unlawful confinement etc. and "serious violations of article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and which are applicable only to non-international armed conflicts like Murder, Mutilation. Cruel treatment, Outrages upon personal dignity, etc. It was the "progressive bloc" that was pushing for the ICC obviously to tie the hands of the AFP and the PNP in the counterinsurgency efforts of the government.
However, I do not agree that we should even consider leaving the UN per the President's published statement that "if China and Russia decide to create a new world order, he would be the first to join them and leave the U.N., which he said is dominated by the U.S."
The Philippines can stand proud of our record in the United Nations: "The Republic of the Philippines is one of the signatories of the 1945 United Nations charter. The Philippines is one of the only four Asian nations who joined the charter. The Philippines is an active supporter of the United Nation's peacekeeping and humanitarian development programs. Carlos P. Romulo became the first permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations. ( "The Philippines and the United Nations." Un.int. 1997-10-21. Retrieved 2013-09-01).
We don't really want to be in a league of a few nations led by China, Russia and a few other countries. We belong to the Free World, the bigger bloc of democracies that respect the Rule of Law.
We don't really want to be in a league of a few nations led by China, Russia and a few other countries. We belong to the Free World, the bigger bloc of democracies that respect the Rule of Law.
Philippine leader hopeful of "new world order" under Russia, China
CBS News
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while delivering a speech during the 80th National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) founding anniversary at the NBI headquarters in metro Manila, Philippines, Nov. 14, 2016.
REUTERS
MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he might follow Russia’s example and withdraw from the International Criminal Court, where his critics say he could be charged over the thousands killed in his war on drugs.
In a statement before flying to Peru to attend the annual summit of Asia-Pacific leaders, Duterte also said the United Nations has been inutile in stopping wars. He said if China and Russia decide to create a new world order, he would be the first to join them and leave the U.N., which he said is dominated by the U.S.
“You know, if China and Russia would decide to create a new order, I would be the first to join,” he said, adding that he would quit the U.N.
Duterte also criticized the global agreement to fight climate change, saying there are no penalties for violators and it is not clear which industrialized countries will contribute money to support developing countries’ efforts against global warming. He said that was the reason why President-elect Donald Trump does not want the U.S. to spend on fighting climate change.
During his campaign, Trump said he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris pact on climate change.
The foul-mouthed Duterte said that like Russia, he might withdraw from the ICC “because we the small ones are the only ones being beaten up,” but nothing has been done for the thousands of children and women dying in bombings in Syria and Iraq.
Duterte is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the sidelines of the summit in Lima. He requested for the bilateral meeting because he wants to meet and be friends with Putin, whom he said was his idol.
that's also the reason why the US won't ratify ICC aside from conflicts with their existing laws, but it's absurd to even think that anyone in the military in the performance of their duty could be hurled for crimes against persons. I think ICC is a big deterrent for such crimes that any state wouldn't want to prosecute
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