'Preposterous': Palace slams Kaufman's claim that Marcos sought to 'neutralize' Duterte's legacy
Malacañang shut down the claim that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. sought to "neutralize" the legacy of former president Rodrigo Duterte—an allegation made by the latter's legal counsel Nicholas Kaufman on the first day of the ICC's confirmation of charges hearing.
During his opening statement on Monday, Feb. 23, Kaufman alleged that Marcos "failed" to stick to his promise of not assisting the ICC "in any way, shape, or form" in Duterte's crimes against humanity case in connection with his bloody war on drugs. "It is indeed the defense's case that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set out to neutralize Rodrigo Duterte and his legacy," he said.
According to Kaufman, a telephone call between four unidentified parties showed one of them "boasting about how he was acting as the silent partner of President BBM, managing a scheme to funnel witnesses to this court while all the time ensuring that he could guarantee President BBM's plausible deniability." He then said that Duterte was later on "unconstitutionally and unceremoniously hauled off to The Hague."
Reacting to the lawyer's accusation, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said, "Kaufman has the temerity to accuse President Marcos of trying to neutralize Duterte's legacy. That is preposterous."
"He seems to be the one suffering from severe cognitive impairment, and not his client, because he tremendously forgets the timeline, since the crimes against humanity cases were filed before the International Criminal Court in 2017, when President Marcos Jr. was still a private citizen," she continued, the Philippine News Agency reported.
Castro also slammed Duterte's legal team for not offering a "clear defense for his client's alleged extrajudicial killings, which reportedly happened during Duterte's time as mayor."
"In addition, one of the counsels, Silvestre Bello III, admitted that Duterte killed someone by throwing him out of a helicopter. He should learn the facts of his case rather than focus on political rhetoric," she added.
Duterte's ICC case
Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity, with prosecutors alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018.
The true number of killings during his campaign in the Philippines is thought to be in the thousands, and lawyers for the victims have argued that a full trial could encourage more families to come forward.
ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang said the murder charges were "merely a fraction" of the real numbers killed.
For his part, Kaufman said Duterte "absolutely" maintains his innocence as he accused the prosecution of "cherry-picking" through Duterte's speeches, adding that many of them insist on the importance of sticking to the law. He noted that the former president's speeches did not have "lethal intent" but aimed to "instil fear in the hearts" of criminals. Kaufman also told ICC judges that the evidence against Duterte was "wholly insufficient" and the charges were "grievously misplaced and politically motivated."
Duterte, who was president from 2016 to 2022, was arrested in Manila in March last year, flown to the Netherlands, and has since been held at the ICC's detention unit at Scheveningen Prison.
He followed his initial hearing three days later by video link, appearing dazed and frail and barely speaking.
The first of three counts against Duterte concerns his alleged involvement as a co-perpetrator in 19 murders carried out between 2013 and 2016 while he was mayor of Davao City.
The second relates to 14 murders of so-called "High Value Targets" in 2016 and 2017 when he was president.
The third charge covers 43 murders committed during "clearance" operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers across the Philippines between 2016 and 2018.
The proceedings, taking place from Feb. 23-27, are a "confirmation of charges" hearing after which judges will weigh whether to move forward to a full trial. That decision will take up to 60 days. (with reports from AFP)
