The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday said there have been no meetings or coordination with the International Criminal Court (ICC) under the helm of Justice Secretary Frederick Vida, even as it maintained that Philippine law does not expressly prohibit cooperation with the tribunal.

In an ambush interview, DOJ spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez clarified that any prior engagement with ICC officials occurred during the term of former Justice Secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla.

“Right now, categorically, we can say that there have been no such meetings with the ICC…with Secretary Vida or any DOJ officials—had any meeting with the ICC,” Martinez told reporters, when asked whether the DOJ continues to coordinate with the ICC, after Remulla earlier said he had met with ICC investigators when he was still justice chief.

While the Philippines has withdrawn from the Rome Statute of the ICC, Martinez said there is no explicit provision in domestic law that bars coordination with international tribunals.

“We reiterate our previous stance that, because of the pending petitions for certiorari and prohibition in the Supreme Court, and we deem it prudent, we will just wait for the resolution by the Supreme Court,” he said. 

Martinez went on. “Our position also, that being said, is that if we were to coordinate with the ICC now, there would be no legal prohibition. I think that one thing is clear, legally at least.”

According to Martinez, several petitions for certiorari and prohibition are currently pending before the Supreme Court (SC), questioning the legality of the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte and raising concerns over potential cooperation with the ICC.

“[They] are questioning if it was legal or valid to arrest the former President Duterte. Will continued cooperation with the ICC also be illegal? That's a question that is pending with the Supreme Court. Now, since they asked that, meaning that our current laws do not clearly provide a prohibition that we cannot coordinate with the ICC, or Interpol for that matter,” Martinez pointed out. 

“Understandably, yes, we know that we've withdrawn from the Rome Statute. That is clear. But there is no legal prohibition under our laws that says that you cannot coordinate with any international agency, tribunal, and that doing so would be a constitutional violation—there is no such thing in our law,” he added. 

Martinez reiterated that the DOJ deems it “prudent” to await the high court’s ruling before adopting any policy on renewed engagement with the tribunal.

“Our position—no legal prohibition, but we deem it prudent to wait for the resolution by the Supreme Court,” he stressed. 

As of now, Martinez added, there is no communication between the DOJ and ICC witnesses, nor any updates on possible coordination through the Witness Protection Program.

“Right now, there have been no updates. As far as I know, no updates yet on coordination,” he said, noting that policy directions may still evolve under the department’s current leadership.

“That was the policy stance by the former Secretary Remulla. With the change in administration, we'd have to look into what policy we'll be taking now. What directive the Secretary will be adopting now,” he added. 

Pressed on whether “coordination” differs from “cooperation,” Martinez said the terms are effectively synonymous.

“Coordinate, cooperate, collaborate — they mean the same in this context,” he said.

For now, the DOJ’s focus remains on cases pending before it, including domestic prosecutions, while developments related to proceedings in The Hague will be addressed, “we'll cross that bridge when we get there, perhaps,” Martinez said.

“Again, the policy directive is not yet clear as to what that is. The only thing that's clear is that there's no legal prohibition. But it's also prudent to wait for the Supreme Court ruling,” he added.