Marcos listens to public's sentiments on rejoining ICC —Palace
At a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked for the President's sentiment on the OCTA Research survey results showing that 57% of Filipinos want the country to rejoin the ICC.
She was asked if the survey results would create a sense of urgency for the Philippines to rejoin the international body. Castro responded that the President has not mentioned this matter yet.
''Sa ngayon, hindi pa po natin pag-uusapan 'yan. Hindi pa po nababanggit ng Pangulo. Pero 'yung ganitong sentimyento po ng ating kababayan ay dinidinig naman po ng ating Pangulo. Tingnan na lang po natin sa mga susunod na araw kung ano po ang magiging saloobin ng Pangulo sa pag-rejoin sa ICC,'' Castro said.
(At present, we haven't discussed it. The President has not mentioned this. But the President listens to this kind of sentiments from the public. Let's wait for the President's remark as regards rejoining the ICC in the coming days.)
A general view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, March 12, 2025. REUTERS/ Wolfgang Rattay/File
Respondents' support for the Philippines possibly rejoining the ICC was strong in most regions of the country, the OCTA survey indicated.
The survey results showed that in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, at least 60% of respondents backed the move. However, Mindanao was an exception—with only 30% in favor of rejoining the ICC and 66% rejecting it, the highest rate of opposition recorded across regions.
Meanwhile, across socioeconomic classes and age groups, support remains relatively consistent with at least half of the respondents in each category favoring rejoining, according to the survey.
In 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, after the tribunal launched a probe into the Duterte administration's deadly drug war.
READ: TIMELINE: The Philippines and the ICC
Castro recently said the President was open to having discussions with regard to the Philippines rejoining the tribunal. —KG, GMA Integrated News
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