Tratado sa ICC

NOONG Miyerkules, ginulat ni Senadora Leila de Lima ang sambayan ng isumite niya sa Senado ang isang panukalang batas na humihingi ng pagsang-ayon ng Senado bago ipawalang bisa o tapusin ng Ehekutibo ang anumang tratado o pandaigdigang kasunduan na pinasok ng Filipinas sa ibang bansa o grupo ng mga bansa. Ayon sa Senate Bill 2436 na akda ni Leila de Lima, walang bisa ang pagtiwalag at pagtatapos ng Ehekutibo sa mga tratado at kasunduan pandaigdig kung hindi inayunan ng Senado.

Binanggit ni may-akda na dahil ang Senado ang may kapangyarihan sa ilalim ng Saligang Batas ng 1987 na nagratipika sa mga tratado at kasunduan, marapat na hingin ng Ehekutibo sa Senado ang pasya sa pagtitiwalag at pagtatapos ng mga niratipikahan na tratado at executive agreement. Inamin ni de Lima na nababatay ang panukalang batas sa desisyon ni Rodrigo Duterte na tumiwalag noong ika-15 ng Marso, 2018 ang Filipinas sa Rome Statute, ang ratipikadong tratado na nagtatayo ng International Criminal Court (ICC) bilang hukumang pandaigdig na mag-iimbestiga at lilitis sa mga abusadong lider.

Hindi kumonsulta si Duterte sa Gabinete o Kongreso sa pagtiwalag ng Filipinas. Nagdesisyon si Duterte sa pagtiwalag dahil nagsasagawa noon ng preliminary investigation ang ICC sa sakdal na crimes against humanity na isinampa noong 2017 ni Sonny Trillanes at Gary Alejano hinggil sa malawakang patayan kaugnay sa madugo ngunit bigong digmaan kontra ilegal droga. Sa kanyang pakiwari, hindi na kikilos ang sakdal dahil sa pagtiwalag ng Filipinas sa ICC.

Ngunit namangha ng kampo ni Duterte nang kumilos ang sakdal. Noong ika-15 ng Setyembre ng taong ito, nagdesisyon ang tatlo kataong Pre- Trial Chamber ng ICC na gumawa ng formal investigation kat Duterte at mga kasapakat na kabilang sina Jose Calida, Bato dela Rosa, Alan Peter Cayetano, Dick Gordon, Vitaliano Aguirre, Oscar Albayalde at iba pa. Batay ang desisyon sa rekomendasyon ng nagretirong Fatou Bensouda, dating hepe ng Office of the Prosecutor ng ICC, na nagsabing may batayan ang sakdal ni Sonny Trillanes at Gary Alejano.

Ayon sa isinumite Final Report noong ika-14 ng Hunyo, o isang araw bago nagretiro at pinalitan ni Karim Khan ng Britanya, sinabi ni Bensouda na may batayan ang paniwala na si Duterte ang nag-utos na malawakang patayan kaugnay sa bigong digmaan kontra droga sa pagitan ng 2016 at 2019 na nagkabisa umano ang pagtiwalag ng Filipinas sa ICC. San tantiya ni Bensouda sa pagitan ng 16,000 hanggang 30,000 ang mga nasawi sa bigong giyera kontra droga.

Sa ilalim ng Saligang Batas, kailangan ang boto ng dalawang katlo (2/3), o 16, ng mga kasapi ng Senado upang magkabisa ang isang tratado o executive agreement sangkot ang Filipinas. Isinumite ni Leila de Lima upang rendahan ang Ehekutibo sa walang basehan na pagtitiwalag o pagtatapos ng anumang tratado o kasunduan na hindi gusto ng nakaupong pangulo.

“This bill aims to protect the interests of our people by making sure that the constitutional checks that are in place during our entry into treaties remain so during our withdrawal from the same,” aniya sa explanatory note ng panukalang batas. May mga petisyon sa Korte Suprema na legalidad ng hakbang ni Duterte na proteksyunan ang sarili sa pagtiwalag sa ICC. Kasama dito ang petisyon ni Sen. Francis Pangilinan at iba pang senador na oposisyon.

Sa desisyon ng Korte Suprema noong ika 16 ng Marso nayong taon, sinabi ng Korte Suprema: “The President’s discretion to withdraw [from treaties] is qualified by the extent of legislative involvement on the manner by which a treaty was entered into or came into effect.” Ang ibig sabihin ay dahil niratipika ng Senado anmg Rome Statute, kailangan ang pagsang-ayon ng Senado upang magkaroon ng bisa ang pagtiwalag.

Sa paniniwala ni Leila de Lima: “By requiring the concurrence of the legislature in the treaties entered into by the President, the Constitution ensures a healthy system of checks and balance necessary in the nation’s pursuit of political maturity and growth.” Kahit ang nakaupong pangulo ang may access to information and expertise mula sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at iba’t-ibang pinanggagalingan ng impormasyon, may mandando ang Senado tutol sa presidente pagdating sa usapin ng mga tratado.

“Otherwise, it would lead and, indeed, has already led to an absurd situation, whereby an action of unilateral withdrawal by the Executive, not sanctioned by the Filipino people through their duly elected representatives in the Legislature, would be legally and constitutionally invalid and, supposedly, ineffective domestically, yet has been considered binding on the Philippines as a State on the international level,”aniya.

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MAYROON akong post noong 2014 na nagkaroon ng saysay dahil sa mga nangyayari ngayon.

VP Leni has handled her political fate as the country’s second highest political leader in the last five years. Unwanted by the madman because of their differences of politics and opinions, she has to reinvent herself. She has to give meaning to her own concept of a “working vice president,” while the madman has metamorphosed into becoming a worthless political lameduck. As a presidential candidate without money and organized machinery, she has to reinvent the concept of a “people’s candidate.” My post in 2014 assumes significance in the current situation and alignment of political forces in the political spectrum.

THE VP AS LOSER

Incumbent vice presidents who broke away from incumbent presidents ended up losers. They hardly reached the pinnacle of power to become president.

Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez found out this quite late in his incumbency. When he broke away from President Diosdado Macapagal as a result of an acrimonious divergence of opinions and resigned his post as foreign affairs secretary, he was relegated in political limbo.

As his daughter (a media colleague) told me in one merienda session in our office, Maning Pelaez regretted his decision because he was hardly heard from again since his breakaway with Cong Dadong. He changed his political party affiliation from Liberal Party to join the Nacionalista Party. Ferdinand Marcos beat him badly in the NP national convention in 1965. He suffered the ignominy of being branded a “political butterfly” for changing his party affiliation.

Vice President Fernando Lopez also broke away from Marcos, but just like Pelaez, he did not become president. He just retired from politics. Doy Laurel broke away from Cory Aquino in 1987, but he was marginalized after his breakaway. He ran in the 1992 presidential elections but he placed 8th among the eight serious presidential candidates.

Erap Estrada did not have the heart to break away from FVR. He became president even when FVR supported Jose De Venecia. Tito Guingona broke away from GMA, but he too was marginalized. He had opted to retire from politics. Will Vice President Jojo Binay win in 2016, if ever he will break away from PNoy? That remains to be seen though. So far, he has not resigned his Cabinet post. At the moment, he enjoys the best of two worlds, or political opportunism.

Many things will happen, but it pays to understand historical antecedents.