President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may have to dismiss Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra after his refusal to represent government agencies in Supreme Court petitions regarding the arrest and transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague, former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Tuesday.
Carpio pointed out that Guevarra’s decision contradicts the Philippine government’s stance that Duterte’s arrest aligns with Republic Act 9851.
“What happened is very problematic because he [Guevarra] is saying the ICC has no jurisdiction, yet the government’s position is that Duterte was turned over precisely because the ICC should take over under RA 9851,” Carpio said in an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
He added that Guevarra’s recusal implies that government agencies now need to find another lawyer to represent them before the Supreme Court, creating a “bad optic” for the administration. Carpio also warned that this move could be exploited by the Duterte camp to fuel further political intrigue.
The former justice emphasized that the Solicitor General serves at the President’s pleasure and can be dismissed anytime. “If your lawyer abandons you, of course, you fire them,” he remarked, noting that Guevarra’s decision signals a lack of unity within the Marcos Cabinet.
In his motion for recusal, Guevarra reaffirmed the government’s position that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Philippines due to the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019.
“Given the OSG’s firm position that the ICC is barred from exercising jurisdiction over the Philippines and that the country’s legal system is functioning properly, the OSG may not be able to effectively represent the respondents in these cases and is constrained to recuse itself,” he stated.
Carpio argued, however, that the Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the Philippines remains obligated to cooperate with the ICC for crimes committed while it was still a member. “The Solicitor General’s position is unclear,” he concluded.
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