Press Release
March 21, 2018

Privilege Speech of Senator Trillanes re PRRD's withdrawal from the ICC

Thank you, Mr. President. I stand on a matter of personal and collective privilege to question the withdrawal of Mr. Duterte as a member of the International Criminal Court or the Rome Statute.

Mr. President, I question the validity of such a unilateral declaration because, I have with me here, Executive Order 459 which was signed in 1998 by Former President Fidel Valdez Ramos, dated January 9, 1998. And, according to this Executive Order, in Section 6, entry into force and provisional application of treaties and executive agreements, and I quote, in Paragraph A:

"A. A treaty or an executive agreement enters into force upon compliance with the domestic requirements stated in this order.

B. No treaty or executive agreement shall be given provisional effect unless it is shown that a pressing national interest will be upheld thereby. The Department of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the concerned agencies, shall determine whether a treaty or an executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, shall be given provisional effect."

In Section 7, Domestic Requirements for the Entry into Force of a Treaty or an Executive Agreement. - The domestic requirements for the entry into force of a treaty or an executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, shall be as follows:

A. Executive Agreements.

1. All executive agreements shall be transmitted to the Department of Foreign Affairs after their signing for the preparation of the ratification papers. The transmittal shall include the highlights of the agreements and the benefits which will accrue to the Philippines arising from them.

2. The Department of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to the endorsement by the concerned agency, shall transmit the agreements to the President of the Philippines for his ratification. The original signed instrument of ratification shall then be returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs for appropriate action.

B. Treaties.

1. All treaties, regardless of their designation, shall comply with the requirements provided in Subparagraphs 1 and 2, which I have just read, of Paragraph A or Executive Agreements of this Section. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs shall submit the treaties to the Senate of the Philippines for concurrence in the ratification by the President. A certified true copy of the treaties, in such numbers as may be required by the Senate, together with a certified true copy of the ratification instrument, shall accompany the submission of the treaties to the Senate.

2. Upon receipt of the concurrence by the Senate, the Department of Foreign Affairs shall comply with the provision of the treaties in effecting their entry into force." Mr. President, let me just put on record that nothing in this Executive Order showed that there is a need for the treaty to be publicized in the Official Gazette. Aside from that, Mr. President, I would like to manifest that, for as long as the senators or two-thirds of the total number of senators, have not concurred with the withdrawal of Mr. Duterte from the ICC is void from the start.

Maraming salamat, Mr. President.

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