Malacañang has reaffirmed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will not bring the Philippines back to the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite a resolution from lawmakers urging reconsideration.
Speaking to reporters in New York City on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President’s position remains unchanged.
“Hindi nagbabago yung stance ng Pangulo. Hindi pa rin po tayo ngayon magrerejoin sa ICC,” Castro said.
Castro declined to elaborate further, noting that this was the extent of the President’s message on the issue.
The statement follows a resolution filed by the Makabayan Bloc in late February, calling on the government to rejoin the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.
The proposal came amid ongoing confirmation of charges proceedings before ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I against former President Rodrigo Duterte, linked to alleged crimes against humanity during his administration’s anti-drug campaign.
Duterte ordered the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2018, which took effect in March 2019. The move was widely seen as an attempt to avoid international scrutiny over the drug war, already under preliminary examination by the tribunal at the time.
Despite the withdrawal, Duterte was arrested in March 2025 under an ICC warrant related to drug war killings, underscoring the tribunal’s continuing jurisdiction over actions committed while the Philippines was still a member.