International Criminal Court, or ICC, investigators wanting to probe the Duterte drug war can enter the country provided they have the proper travel documents, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said yesterday.
Guevarra said as long as they possess the right travel papers and won't be conducting any legal activities, the government sees no reason to prevent their entry as they will be interviewing certain persons and gathering certain documents.
He, however, the decision to allow their entry rests with the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration.
Rejoining ICC
"I leave that question to the DoJ and BI because our immigration laws grant broad discretion to those authorities to admit or refuse entry to individuals deemed undesirable," Guevarra said.
As to the possible classification of the ICC probers as undesirables, he said, "It depends on their actions. If they engage in undesirable activities from the Philippine government's perspective, they may be asked to leave."
He added: "It's not my decision to make. It depends on the assessment of the Bureau of Immigration, guided by the Department of Justice."
To recall, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla last week echoed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s statement that the possibility of the Philippines rejoining the ICC, as sought by some House lawmakers, needs careful study.
"Rejoining the ICC requires serious study. Hindi pwedeng lumundag tayo basta basta dahil meron lang nagsabi (We can't jump willy-nilly just because somebody demanded it). It really needs to be studied thoroughly," Remulla said.
He added: "Hindi tayo parang trumpo na kapag mayrong bumatbat ay iikot na lang (We're not like tops that anyone can just whip about). We should conduct ourselves rightfully because this concerns the welfare of our country."
Marcos said returning to the fold of the ICC was "under study," even as he maintained that there were "problems" with the ICC's jurisdiction to probe the Duterte administration's war on drugs.
Marcos and Remulla have yet to officially discuss the country's possible cooperation with the ICC's probe into the Duterte administration's anti-drugs campaign.
This according to Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson, Atty. Mico Clavano, who said, "I don't believe that the secretary and the President have spoken yet."
The ICC issue is "something that is way above my pay level, so I believe it's something that has to be discussed between the secretary and the President," Clavano said.
As to whether there has been any official communication between Marcos and the DoJ regarding the ICC issue, he said there was none so far.
Meanwhile, Guevarra said the government will not prevent the Commission on Human Rights from cooperating with the ICC, should it decide to do so.
"If the CHR takes that position then so be it. We will not prevent the CHR from performing its mandate under the Constitution," he said.
The CHR, under the Constitution, is an independent body.
Amid calls to cooperate with the investigation, Guevarra reiterated that the government has "no legal duty or legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC prosecutor."
"Cooperating despite the absence of a legal duty is a political decision only the President can make. So, it's up to him," he said. "More so, if Congress would actually adopt and submit to the President that resolution expressing the sentiment of the House that the Philippines should cooperate."