President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not yet addressed the possibility of the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite growing public support for such a move, Malacañang confirmed on Tuesday.
In a Palace briefing, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro clarified that the issue has not been tackled so far by the President. “Sa ngayon po ay hindi pa napapag-usapan yan, hindi pa nababanggit ng Pangulo,” she said.
However, she emphasized that public opinion weighs heavily on the President’s decision-making process. “Ang sentimyento ng mga kababayan ay dinidinig ng ating Pangulo,” Castro added. “Tingnan na lang natin sa mga susunod na araw kung ano ang magiging desisyon ng Pangulo.”
Calls for the country’s return to the ICC have resurfaced following a recent survey conducted by OCTA Research, which found that 57 percent of Filipinos favor rejoining the tribunal. The strongest support came from Luzon (67 percent), Metro Manila (64 percent), and the Visayas (62 percent). In contrast, only 30 percent of Mindanao respondents—former President Rodrigo Duterte’s home base—supported rejoining the court.
The ICC had begun preliminary investigations into Duterte’s bloody drug war before the Philippines formally exited the Rome Statute in 2019. While Marcos had previously insisted that the Philippines is no longer under the ICC’s jurisdiction, the recent detention of Duterte in The Hague this March has reignited national and international discussions on accountability and justice.
