MANILA
\nThe majority of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court, the results of a new opinion poll showed on Monday.
\nThe Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, as the court\u2019s prosecutors began to look into his \u201cwar on drugs\u201d campaign in 2016-22, which they estimate has resulted in the extrajudicial killings of 30,000 Filipinos.
\nDespite the Philippines\u2019 withdrawal, the court has issued an arrest warrant against Duterte, as it keeps jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while a country was a member.
\nThe current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. complied with the arrest warrant and Duterte has been in ICC custody since March, awaiting trial. The Marcos\u2019s spokesperson, Claire Castro, said earlier this month that he was also \u201copen to talking about\u201d rejoining the ICC.
\nThe move would be supported by 57 percent of Filipinos, according to the latest survey by OCTA Research.
\n\u201cA clear 57 percent of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the ICC. In contrast, 37 percent are opposed, and 6 percent remain undecided, indicating broad, though not unanimous, public backing for renewed engagement,\u201d the Quezon City-based polling and research firm said in its report.
\nThe study was conducted between April 20 and April 24, on 1,200 respondents in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
\nIn Mindanao, where Duterte traces his political roots and despite detention won the mayoral election last month, the support for rejoining the ICC was the lowest.
\n\u201cIn Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, at least 60 percent of respondents express support,\u201d the OCTA Research report said. \u201cIn Mindanao, however, is an exception \u2014 with only 30 percent supporting the move and 66 percent expressing opposition, the highest rate of opposition recorded across regions.\u201d
\nThe highest rate of support for reengagement with the ICC was among people aged 25-34, with 62 percent of them in favor of the move, while the lowest support was among those aged 45-54, at 50 percent.
\nDuterte\u2019s arrest has likely contributed to awareness about the ICC across the Philippines, with 85 percent of adult Filipinos claiming to have seen, read, or heard about the court and only 13 percent reporting being unaware of it.
\n\u201cThis widespread awareness sets the stage for significant national conversations on justice, accountability, and the Philippines\u2019 potential reengagement with the ICC,\u201d OCTA Research said.
\n\u201cAwareness levels are consistently high nationwide. In Metro Manila, 89 percent of respondents indicated familiarity with the ICC, followed closely by Balance Luzon (86 percent), Mindanao (85 percent), and the Visayas (77 percent).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MANILA The majority of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court, the results of a new opinion poll showed on Monday. The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, as the court\u2019s prosecutors began to look into his \u201cwar on drugs\u201d campaign in 2016-22, which they estimate has resulted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-487671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n