Dear Editor,

The International Criminal Court, it seems, can’t get enough of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Following all the stories regarding the ICC’s warpath against the former President, we can deduce that it is really “out to get” Duterte by hook or by crook, as it is seemingly convinced that the former President is already guilty on the alleged extrajudicial killings after he waged war against illegal drugs during his term.

And now, what we are seeing is a blatant disregard of the ICC for the Philippines’ justice system as it is bent as hell to arrest — and convict — the former President over the supposed war on drugs by his administration.

One can also say that the ICC may have an underlying agenda — most likely powered by the former President’s naysayers and “enemies.”

However, Duterte still has remaining allies backing him against the “onslaught” of the ICC, as the Office of the Solicitor General recently clarified that the ICC could not just “swoop in” and arrest the former President.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra made it clear that the ICC lacks the muscle for arrests and has no enforcement mechanism of its own.

 He added that should the ICC issue an arrest warrant against anyone for enforcement in Philippine territory, all that the Philippine government needs to do is nothing.

That directive also came from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. when he reiterated that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines and that his government will not cooperate in its investigation regarding the war on drugs of the previous administration.

Guevarra also explicitly noted that the ICC lacks the authority to unilaterally effect the arrest of Duterte over the country’s drug war without coordinating with the Philippine government, as all it can do is to give notice to and seek the assistance of the state concerned to effect the service of any legal process, especially a warrant of arrest.

The ICC cannot do this on its own; that much is obvious, and it cannot certainly push its agenda because we said the Philippines will not cooperate with the ICC.

Although the former President has claimed that there is a possibility that he will be arrested after the ICC investigation and is also supported by rumors of Task Force Davao’s dissolution due to its perceived allegiance to Duterte, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff, General Romeo Brawner Jr. has expressed his support to the former President.

We agree with the appeal of former Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to Marcos to order all agencies under the executive branch, the Philippine National Police and the AFP, to disengage from the International Criminal Court when it enters the country’s jurisdiction.

We also laud the PNP in its stance that the jurisdiction of the ICC over the Philippines was questionable, and it would not enforce any arrest warrant it may issue against Duterte.

Now, we only need to clarify this: What is the ICC’s beef against the former President? Is it retaliation, or is the ICC just being used by Duterte’s perceived and “unperceived” enemies to further their agendas?

We may not know, not in our lifetime, at least.

Romeo Cabiling

cabro2002@yahoo.com