Palace: Too hooked on PH politics, Du30 lawyer losing focus
Malacañang spokesperson Claire Castro on Friday hit former President Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman for “losing track” of the former leader’s case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) because of his preoccupation with Philippine politics.
In a Viber message to reporters, Castro also advised Kaufman to focus on defending Duterte rather than on the political careers of Vice President Sara Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte.
“He should focus on his defense and legal strategies, not on President Marcos. He is losing track of his case because he keeps monitoring Philippine politics. He should do his best for his client, not for the political careers of his client’s children,” Castro said in a Viber message.
Her remarks came in response to Kaufman’s claim that the Marcos administration had allegedly been helping the prosecution in Duterte’s case, even before he was turned over to the ICC.
In an interview with international media in The Hague, Netherlands, Kaufman was asked whether he needs assistance from the Philippine government in Duterte’s case.
He responded: “The Philippine government headed by President Bongbong Marcos is not going to help us in any way whatsoever. It’s been helping the prosecution right from before the time that the former president was surrendered to the court, but it’s not going to help Mr. Duterte.”
It was not clear what “help” Kaufman meant, but he appeared to be referring to the assistance to nationals that nations usually extend to their citizens abroad.
Aid to nationals
But Duterte has been charged at the ICC with crimes against humanity, represented by three counts covering incidents from November 2011 to March 2019, including the murders of 19 victims when he was mayor of Davao City from 2013 to 2016, murder of 14 during his presidency from 2016-2017 and 45 murders and attempted murders in barangay clearance operations from 2016 to 2018.
The cases pending against the former leader is only a fraction of the more than 5,000 killings of untried criminals that the Philippine National Police confirmed to have occurred during Duterte’s presidency.
And the former President is assured a proper trial after the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I confirmed on April 23 that it found substantial grounds to believe Duterte is responsible for crimes against humanity, committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population.
“We respect the ruling of the ICC that confirms all charges of crimes against humanity against former President Duterte,” Castro said.
“Justice is what needs to be achieved in these cases. Both parties will benefit from it. Justice for the accused if they are innocent, and justice for the victims if their rights were violated,” Castro added.
