Various progressive groups marched to Mendiola, Manila on March 17, to call for the Philippine government to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC). Led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), the groups challenged the Marcos administration to “immediately start the process of rejoining the ICC” to fight the culture of impunity and lack of justice in the country.

The Philippines formally withdrew from the ICC on March 17, 2019, one year after the Rodrigo Duterte administration sent an official letter to the United Nations on March 17, 2018. This expressed the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute treaty. Duterte cited the threat of “foreign interference in the Philippine justice system” to save himself from the case filed against him there.

Bayan had long known that the Duterte administration withdrew “precisely to evade accountability for his murderous ‘war on drugs’ and bloody war against dissent.”

It is time to reverse the wrongful decision. Only in the ICC will it be possible to achieve justice for the victims of extrajudicial killings now that he has been arrested and is in the custody of the court, it said. The trial against Duterte covers cases of killings from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019, the period when the Philippines was a member of the ICC.

Meanwhile, Bayan condemned Ferdinand Marcos Jr for stating that the country has a functioning justice system, thus the government no longer needs to rejoin the ICC. It said this statement contradicts his government’s cooperation with the ICC to arrest Duterte and bring him to The Hague.

“Is he hiding his apprehension over the prospect of facing accountability in the ICC over the continuing and gross human rights violations under his term?” Bayan stated. The war on drugs killings and counterinsurgency campaign continue under the Marcos regime.

The group emphasized that while the Filipino people are pushing for justice and accountability for victims of state terrorism, they want to deliver a strong message to the notorious fascists and murderers in the government. They insist on also bringing them to prosecution and punishment for their crimes. “If not in the Philippine justice system then at the ICC,” it said.

Duterte has already appeared before the judges of Pre-Trial Chamber 1 of the ICC on March 14 where the case filed against him was read in his presence. The court set the next hearing on September 23, 2025 to give Duterte’s camp time to prepare. The confirmation of the complaints filed against him will be conducted at the next hearing.