MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has approved the Philippine government's disengagement with the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying the appeal was the country's last involvement with the permanent court, Solicitor-General Menardo Guevarra said on Thursday

"I have discussed this matter personally with PBBM and we have agreed that our appeal to the ICC appeals chamber is the end of our engagement with the ICC," Guevarra told reporters.

"We just really waited for the decision (which we nearly won, 3-2)," he added.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said the Philippines will stop engaging with the ICC after its Appeals Chamber junked the government’s appeal against the resumption of the drug war probe.

The ICC Appeals Chamber backed the Pre-Trial Chamber’s January 2023 ruling authorizing the ICC Prosecutor to continue its probe on the killings in the Philippines in connection with former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war and the so-called Davao Death Squad.

It rejected the Philippines’ argument that the ICC no longer had jurisdiction over the country because at the time that the ICC Prosecutor was given initial authority to start its probe in September 2021, the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC had taken effect since March 2019.

Marcos Jr. has insisted that the permanent court does not have any jurisdiction over the Philippines.

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