A YouTube video claims that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the return of the Philippines as a member of the International Criminal Court, has arraigned Vice President Sara Duterte and former Palace spokesman Harry Roque. These are false.
The statement from Malacañang was that the president is willing to discuss the possibility of the country rejoining the ICC. No charges are filed in the ICC against Duterte and Roque, nor is an arraignment underway.
Uploaded on June 20, the video’s headline read:
“PINATAWAG NA ANG ICC! PBBM GINULAT VP SARA! BINASAHAN NA NG ICC! KULONG ANG HATUL! KAKAPASOK LANG!
(ICC summoned! PBBM shocked VP Sara! Arraigned by the ICC! Imprisonment is the verdict! Just in)!”
The video opened with an anonymous narration, saying:
“Grabe president bbm inutusan na. Nagulat si VP Sara Duterte pinatawag na ang ICC. Ayon sa nakalap nating impormasyon, babalik na ang Pilipinas sa ICC.
(President BBM has been ordered. VP Sara Duterte was shocked, the ICC was summoned. Based on the information we have, the Philippines will return to the ICC).”
There has been no formal commitment from the Marcos administration that the Philippines will renew its membership in the ICC although Palace Press Officer Claire Castro had said that the president is open to talks on this matter.
Neither has there been an announcement from the ICC that a formal complaint had been filed against Duterte and Roque, nor an order for their imprisonment.
Vice President Duterte was named in documents submitted to the court related to its investigation of extrajudicial killings by the Davao Death Squad and drug war killings attributed to her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who has been detained since March 12 in The Hague for crimes against humanity.
Uploaded by YouTube channel BOSS BALITA TV, the erroneous video has so far received 49,270 interactions.
