Palace tells ICC to wake up, realize it’s being used by disgruntled persons to besmirch Duterte’s reputation

January 15, 2020

Malacanang said on Wednesday that the International Criminal Court ( ICC) has to wake up and should realize that it is being used by "disgruntled" persons to besmirch President Rodrigo Duterte's reputation.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement after lawyer Jude Sabio informed the ICC of his intention to withdraw his communication against Duterte for the alleged crimes against humanity.

Panelo said Sabio appeared to have been tapped by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a known critic of Duterte, to file the complaint against the President.

But he noted that the professional tie between Sabio and Trillanes has since "turned sour" due to the former lawmaker's alleged failure to pay Sabio's professional fees leading to the latter's intention to withdraw the complaint before the ICC.

"Sabio claims he has withdrawn his complaint because he didn’t want to be a part of the political propaganda of Trillanes and the Liberal Party. Put simply, the complaint against President Duterte, orchestrated by Trillanes, is part of the vilification campaign relentlessly pursued by the incorrigible detractors as well as the political opposition totally repudiated by the electorate," he said.

"Slowly but surely, the destabilizers of the Duterte administration are being undressed. Their obnoxious smell like ash fall pollutes the air. The ICC has to wake up from its stupor if not ignorance. It should realize by now that it is being used by disgruntled and discredited persons to advance their goal of besmirching the reputation of PRRD and achieving their impossible dream of bringing down the Duterte presidency," said Panelo, also chief presidential legal counsel.

He also insisted that the ICC has no jurisdiction over Duterte since the Philippines is not a state party in the Rome Statute, which created the tribunal.

In 2017, Sabio asked the ICC prosecutor to charge Duterte and his other senior officials for alleged extrajudicial killings involving drug suspects in the Philippines. Celerina Monte/DMS