Senator Ronald Dela Rosa said Monday if the country decides to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC), the move should have the approval of the Senate.

This comes after President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said the government is studying the possibility of returning to the international court.

Marcos made this statement following the filing of six House resolutions, urging the government to cooperate with the ICC’s probe of his predecessor’s war on drugs.

“If we want to rejoin, it’s simple. That will go to the process. Our Hague representative should signify that we can return. If our country enters into an agreement, it has to be ratified by the by the President. And after the President’s ratification, it has to be concurred by the Senate by a two-thirds vote. So that’s the process. We go back to zero. Back to square one,” Dela Rosa told ANC.

“Otherwise, our rejoining would be unconstitutional if we do not follow the process in the Constitution,” he said.

However, Dela Rosa is doubtful that the Senate would agree that the Philippines should return to the ICC.

“Just in case the President so decides to rejoin, I’m not sure it would push through. It would undergo a Senate debate,” he said.

“The Senate is composed of 24 independent republics. Nobody can dictate these 24 independent republics. It would be hard to make them agree with one stroke,” he added.

He said he found the timing of the filing of the House resolutions “questionable” since it happened when there were supposed tensions between Vice President Sara Duterte and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“Why are those resolutions only being filed now when there is a conflict between the Vice President and the Speaker of the House? Do you think if their concern is really very genuine, will it take one and a half years of this Congress to realize that they actually need the to let the ICC in so they can investigate?” he said.

Asked if former President Rodrigo Duterte would be tried by Philippine courts, he replied: “Yes. Because our justice system is working. If he has a case he will face it as long as it is being filed and tried before our Filipino courts, not the courts of the black and the white people who do not know what is happening in our country.”

“ Former President Duterte will face Philippine courts because being a Filipino, he is answerable to Philippine courts, not foreign courts,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS