The Philippines must withdraw from the ICC

[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]

[av_heading heading=’The Philippines must withdraw from the ICC’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY LUIS BUENAFLIR JR.
[/av_heading]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
February 19, 2018
[/av_textblock]

[av_textblock size=’18’ font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
THAT Benigno Simeon Aquino III aka Noynoy Aquino is a nincompoop is a fact that most natives of this archipelago would agree rather than disagree.

Why he ever became President of the Republic stills leaves moi puzzled. Perhaps his becoming president is the perfect argument at that time when most of the citizens have become trendy easily-influenced idiots.

Just because he is the fruit of the loins of “hero” Ninoy and “sainthood interrupted” Cory Aquino automatically makes him presidential material is probably the dumbest thing moi has ever heard.

A quick check on his current curriculum vitae shows that all his adult life he has never done an honest day’s work. He became a congressman for nine years and not a single bill or law was passed through his name. He became senator for three years and just the same, zero on his performance as a legislator.

We all know he became president because his mother, “sainthood interrupted” Cory, died and the shallow and trendy natives are not satisfied with just expressing their condolences; they just had to make her nincompoop son president like it was his birthright.

To say that he is the worst president this country ever had is an understatement. Some people are comparing his mother’s term as president and claim that it was worst but moi begs to disagree.

The six years of Noynoy Aquino’s presidency totally destroyed the republic and made mockery of once respected institution.

The systematic corruption institutionalized through the Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP and the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF which was later declared illegal by the Supreme Court made Indonesia’s former president Suharto look like a petty cellphone snatcher in Cubao.

For six years Noynoy’s government was characterized with major faux pas which caused not only international embarrassment but the lives of natives and tourists as well.

To name a few of Noynoy’s “accomplishments”:

* mishandling of the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident which resulted in the death of eight tourists from Hong Kong and a diplomatic crisis also with Hong Kong

* Mamasapano Massacre resulting into the death of 44 troopers of the Philippine National Police – Special Action Force

* Losing Scarborough Shoal to China because of incompetent backdoor channel negotiations by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV upon the orders of then President Noynoy Aquino

* the failed Bangsamoro Basic Law or BBL which would have given Mindanao to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF on a silver platter.

* the genocide “Death by Dengvaxia” – a state-sponsored vaccination of 800,000 schoolchildren with the experimental drug Dengvaxia; so far 26 schoolchildren have died

There is, however, one major faux pas of Noynoy Aquino that went unnoticed, that is, until now when it was used to undermine President Rodrigo Duterte and paint the Philippines as a lawless and failed state, with people killed every day – with the ultimate purpose of bringing not only him down but the country as well.

The Rome Statute which created the International Criminal Court or ICC was ratified on August 2011 by a Noynoy Aquino-subservient Congress.

It was originally signed by President Joseph Estrada in December 2000 but President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo refused to forward it to the Senate for ratification.

It was only ratified when then President Noynoy Aquino endorsed and forwarded it to Congress for ratification.

Here are excerpts from the Feb. 13 Manila Bulletin column of Getsy Tiglao:

Here in the Philippines, where most of our senators just follow whatever is the popular idea of the moment, the Rome treaty creating the ICC was quickly ratified in August 2011. The issue of how the treaty could impact on Philippine sovereignty and judicial authority wasn’t even considered.

At that time, the mainstream thinking was that the ICC was only for the prosecution of East European or African leaders who had committed genocide or war crimes. Few Filipinos thought that this all-encompassing treaty would one day serve as the vehicle by which destabilizers could oust a popular president who is fighting heavily-financed drug cartels.

Only one senator in 2011 had the legal foresight to oppose the Rome Statute, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile. He pointed out that the ICC could have repercussions on Philippine security, with our military personnel being exposed to all kinds of suits from alleged crimes or atrocities, which would impede their efforts to maintain peace and order.

Extraordinarily prescient, Enrile also said that if the Philippines became a party to the Rome Statute, Philippine presidents will lose their right to invoke their immunity from suits before the ICC.

Today, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte faces the prospect of a trial before the international court. While Duterte will be charged as an individual, as president and father of the nation he represents each and every Filipino. His fate will be the fate of us all.

It is notable that the three major superpowers, the United States, Russia and China, did not sign the Rome Statue Treaty. Although then US President Clinton signed it, his successor President Bush withdraw the membership of the US from the ICC.

The US government noted the major flaw of the ICC – the lack of safeguards to prevent political manipulation which is exactly what has happened to President Duterte.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said: The ICC is just wasting its time and resources by undertaking the preliminary examination, insisting that the Philippines has not exhibited inability or unwillingness to probe allegations against the President.

Roque stressed that the Philippines ratified the statute with the condition that the ICC adheres to the principle of complementarity. Under this principle, the ICC must only function as a “court of last resort,” which means it would only act if a state is unable or unwilling to carry out an investigation and prosecution of a crime.

President Rodrigo Duterte must withdraw the Philippines from membership in the ICC and ignore this charade. After all, the ICC is a useless entity with no power to enforce or jurisdiction over the Philippines. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
[/av_textblock]

[/av_one_full]