Chairman of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee, Senator Francis Tolentino, advised the Office of the Solicitor General on Friday, July 21, to keep an eye on the proceedings on the drug war investigation even after the Philippines disengaged from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The senator made the remark in response to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra's revelation that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and he had agreed that the country's involvement with the ICC would cease with the appeal before the international tribunal.
"That (disengaging) is the appropriate manner in how this issue should be approached&hellip; disengagement would really mean that, formally, we will not cooperate but they should be still monitoring what would be happening within the premises of ICC," said Tolentino.
Tolentino stated that the office of the Solicitor General should be aware of what is going on and that it would be wise to monitor what is happening for the reason that disengagement would really not mean a total lack of communication.
Tolentino, a lawyer who also specializes in public international law, said there was a chance for the ICC to quash any warrant of arrest against individuals who are named in the war on drugs investigation.
"I believe that, considering that this is a split decision, there&rsquo;s a chance that even if the warrant of arrest is issued, it can be quashed or set aside by the pre-trial chamber," said the senator.
Recently, the Philippine government's appeal against the continuation of the ICC prosecutor's inquiry into the drug war was rejected by the ICC Appeals Chamber.
The Chamber asserted that the country's claim of jurisdiction had no bearing on the outcome.
Guevarra claimed that, as a result, the nation has "no legal duty to cooperate with the ICC investigation."
"The ICC is free to proceed with its own investigation, but it cannot expect any cooperation from the Philippine government as we continue to dispute its jurisdiction," the official said.
Based on government records, at least 6,200 suspects were killed in police operations during former President Rodrigo Duterte&rsquo;s administration.
Meanwhile, human rights groups claimed the actual death toll could be from 12,000 to 30,000.

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Tolentino to SolGen: monitor ICC proceedings amid PH disengagement