MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte cannot dodge calls for justice and accountability with a “simple goodbye” from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Senator Risa Hontiveros said. In a statement on Sunday, Hontiveros tagged the country’s exit from the ICC as a “desperate exit plan” of the President. ADVERTISEMENT“The country’s exit from the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an act to defend not Philippine sovereignty but the climate of killing and impunity in the country,” she said. “It will also not disable our country’s cooperation with the ICC conducting criminal investigations which were initiated before the said withdrawal,” she added. A month later, Duterte declared the country’s withdrawal from the international court.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 17, 2019 06:00 UTC