"It is the beginning of the end for Duterte" after PH withdrawal from ICC - De Lima

 "beginning of the end" of Duterte said the detained Senator Leila De Lima, hitting President Rodrigo Duterte anew after the latter’s move to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Few days ago, the president declared the country’s withdrawal from the ICC, which according to the administration, is being used by the detractors to destabilize the government.

In her usual handwritten notes sent to the media, De Lima argued with Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque who said that the country’s withdrawal from the court is the "beginning of the end".

"No, Mr Roque, Duterte's withdrawal from the ICC is not the 'beginning of the end' for the ICC. It is the beginning of the end for Duterte," De lima wrote, address Roque.

"No right thinking nation or leader will follow the lead of your deranged President, except perhaps those who are also likely candidates for ICC investigation and prosecution," her letter reads.

"Countries will be staying put in the ICC because they don't want to be identified with the Philippine government under Duterte, which is now the number one human rights violator in the world," De Lima also said.

According to the President’s explanation, the withdrawal rules do not apply to the Philippines because the treaty of the Rome Statue ( Rome Statue is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court, adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome in 1998, and ratified by the Senate in 2011) was fake.

President Duterte argued that there was “fraud” committed in the process of making the Philippines sign the agreement, thus, the country has the right to withdraw effective immediately.

Under the said treaty, withdrawal is only effective one year after a country submits its written notice to the UN Secretary-General, should a country decide to withdraw.

Source: Rappler

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