De Lima asks SC: Reconsider ruling on ICC appearance

MANILA, Philippines — Detained Sen. Leila de Lima yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its earlier decision declining her request to personally argue on behalf of minority senators who challenged Malacañang’s decision to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

In a 12-page motion for reconsideration, De Lima asked the SC to be allowed to argue the case on Aug. 28, considering its “transcendental importance.”

De Lima admitted that while she has no “exclusive competence” on the subject matter, she believed that as a lawyer in good standing she could appear before the courts. 

She added that since she had served as chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, she is aware of international instruments, conventions and treaties relating to human rights and the importance of these measures to the country.

“(The issue is relevant) especially under circumstances of impunity and disregard for the rule of law, human life and human dignity,” she said.

De Lima was secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ) during the term of former president Benigno Aquino III. 

As DOJ chief, she gave legal opinions to Aquino and other concerned agencies on various matters including foreign relations and treaty commitments.

As a senator, she raised the government’s possible accountability to the Rome Statute and the ICC in the prosecution of a violent and bloody war on drugs, as constituting crimes against humanity. 

She has chaired the Senate committee on justice and human rights. She also filed resolutions for the investigation of alleged extrajudicial killings, as a result of the Duterte administration’s drug war.