Philippines Supreme Court dismisses challenge to Duterte's ICC withdrawal

MANILA, March 16 (Reuters) - The Philippine Supreme Court
has thrown out a petition that sought to invalidate President
Rodrigo Duterte's unilateral withdrawal from the International
Criminal Court, which has been examining allegations of
atrocities in his bloody war on drugs.
Duterte in March 2018 cancelled the Philippines' membership
of the ICC's founding treaty just weeks after the ICC's
prosecutor announced a preliminary examination was underway into
thousands of killings in his war on drugs, which he said was
prejudiced against him.
But six minority senators asked the Supreme Court to
invalidate Duterte's decision, which took effect a year later,
arguing it was illegal and done without Senate approval, which
is needed before entering into treaties.
The Supreme Court in a statement said that judges
unanimously dismissed the legal challenge as "moot and
academic".
"The court also noted that the judiciary has enough powers
to protect human rights contrary to speculation raised by the
petitioners," it added.
The ICC is a court of last resort that can exercise
jurisdiction if states are unable or unwilling to investigate
crimes, which Duterte's office has repeatedly said was not the
case in the Philippines.
Despite the withdrawal, the ICC has been receiving
complaints and testimony from activists calling for Duterte's
international indictment over thousands of alleged extrajudicial
killings during his campaign against narcotics, which took place
while the Philippines was an ICC member.
Human rights groups accuse Duterte of inciting deadly
violence and say police have murdered unarmed suspects and
staged crime scenes on a massive scale. Police reject that and
Duterte insists he told police to kill only in self-defense.
Salvador Panelo, Duterte's chief legal counsel, said the
Supreme Court's decision "puts to rest the debate on the
authority of the president to withdraw from treaties and
international agreements."