JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday branded as mere “political statement” rather than a “true legal action” the complaint filed by two former Philippine government officials before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Chinese President Xi Jinping for his alleged crimes against humanity in relation to the current South China Sea dispute.
Guevarra, likewise, expressed belief that the complaint filed by former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario was not intended to secure a favorable judgment but only “to impress upon China that if the Philippine government is now willing to vigorously assert its West Philippine Sea arbitration victory at this time [and] there are Filipinos who are unwilling to defer further action to enforce the arbitral ruling.”
“Let me explain that making a political statement is not the same as doing [a] partisan, politically motivated act. Private citizens or groups can say or do something to influence public opinion or affect state action pertaining to matters of public interest, but not necessarily aligning themselves with mainstream political aggrupations in the partisan sense,” Guevarra stated.
Earlier, the Palace said the filing of the complaint may be a “futile exercise” on the part of the two former government officials considering that the ICC has no jurisdiction over China.
It also expressed optimism that the complaint would not affect diplomatic ties between the two countries. However, del Rosario and Carpio-Morales insisted that the ICC has jurisdiction over the “atrociously inhumane actions” of Chinese officials in the contested waterway as it occurred “within Philippine territory.”
It can be recalled that the Philippine government officially withdrew its signature to the Rome Statute on March 16, 2018. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established ICC.
President Duterte announced its decision after the ICC’s chief prosecutor launched a preliminary examination into the alleged crimes against humanity allegedly committed by President Duterte and his men in connection with his bloody campaign against illegal drugs.