Faces of the News: March 23, 2025
Nicholas Kaufman
The designation of British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman as counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte was confirmed on Tuesday by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This means he and Duterte’s former aide Salvador Medialdea are the only ones recognized so far to represent Duterte. Vice President Sara Duterte, who remains at The Hague to be able to make regular visits to her detained 79-year-old father, wants Kaufman to serve as lead counsel. Duterte also said she would prefer lawyers who already an an “ICC experience,” which means Medialdea may be dropped soon. Kaufman, confident that Duterte will get a “strong defense,” has also started looking after the ex-president’s “humanitarian needs and concerns” as his client spends his second week at the ICC Detention Center. An alumnus of the University of Cambridge, Kaufman was a former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former state of Yugoslavia, and had defended high-profile clients like Aisha Gaddafi, daughter of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. —KATHLEEN DE VILLA
Arnolfo Teves Jr.
Timor-Leste’s Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of expelled congressman Arnolfo Teves Jr., rejecting Manila’s bid to have him extradited. In a decision released on March 20, the court’s plenary of judges “unanimously” decided to grant Teves’ appeal and “refuse the request for [his] extradition.” They cited Article 35(3) of their country’s Constitution which prohibits a foreigner’s extradition if there is a “well-founded risk of being subjected to torture, inhuman, degrading or cruel treatment.” Teves, the former representative of Negros Oriental, faces multiple criminal charges for allegedly masterminding the killing of a political rival in 2023. He was arrested in March 2023 while playing golf in the Timor-Leste capital of Dili. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it was “surprised and deeply disappointed” by the ruling, describing the court’s 180-degree reversal as “peculiar” after having twice previously ruled in favor of extradition—in June 2024 and in December 2024. On Friday, the DOJ stressed that Teves had also been listed as a “terrorist” in the Philippines. —JANE BAUTISTA
Imee Marcos
Sen. Imee Marcos ruffled some feathers in the administration when, as chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, she led an inquiry on Thursday into the March 11 arrest of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte by the Philippine National Police at the request of the Interpol and on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Her questions mainly focused on the inconsistency of government pronouncements about its nonrecognition of the ICC jurisdiction, the contested validity of the warrant, the supposed rough treatment Duterte received from the arresting officers and the alleged failure of the Presidential Security Command to prevent his arrest. She argued that the former leader’s capture and eventual detention in The Hague violated his right to due process. The senator is running for reelection as an administration candidate but has since skipped party rallies. She has also openly carped about the political “turmoil” arising from the impeachment of her friend, Vice President Sara Duterte, and the supposed cooperation of the government with the ICC in the latter’s investigation of the drug war killings under Duterte. —MELVIN GASCON
Henry Rhoel Aguda
Malacañang on March 20 named digital technocrat Henry Rhoel Aguda as the new chief of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), two weeks after the resignation of Secretary Ivan John Uy. The Presidential Communications Office cited Aguda’s experience in banking, technology and telecommunications. The incoming DICT chief stepped down as president and CEO of UnionDigital Bank in August reportedly to “pursue opportunities that are more aligned to his personal development goals.” Apart from heading UnionDigital, Aguda also served as digital infrastructure lead of the Private Sector Advisory Council, and board chair of City Savings Bank and UBX Philippines. He will now be tasked with leading the government agency in charge of ICT development amid rising cybersecurity threats that put even the most powerful state offices to the test. Aguda’s government debut also comes a month after Vince Dizon was appointed secretary of the Department of Transportation, considered the DICT’s “sister” agency. —MEG J. ADONIS
Arvin Tolentino
NorthPort forward Arvin Tolentino was named Best Player of the Conference in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday, March 21, becoming the first player outside the San Miguel power bloc to win the award in nine conferences. A sweet-shooting forward who has earlier won championships at Barangay Ginebra, Tolentino was able to spread his wings wider in his stint with NorthPort. Among his most crucial moments as top gunner was a two-way play that resulted in a Batang Pier win and a rise to the No. 1 seed of the conference. Tolentino beat out close pal Calvin Oftana of TNT, reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo of powerhouse San Miguel and Jordan Heading of Converge to join Christian Standhardinger as the only two NorthPort players to earn Best Player honors. “The whole time I was just trying to be better, trying to improve myself every day. This is the reward,” he told reporters shortly after receiving the award at Ynares Center in Antipolo City. (He had to temporarily leave his family in the middle of a Boracay vacation just to be there.) “This is just to really get better each day, to help my team win and hopefully win a championship again.” —DENISON REY A. DALUPANG
