Duterte's Lawyer Fires Back at ICC: 'This Is Political Demagoguery, Not Justice' — Kaufman's Full Defense Strategy Revealed
While the prosecution spent Day 1 quoting Duterte's own words, his lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman came out swinging with a counter-narrative: this case is built on "political demagoguery" and cherry-picked evidence, not facts that meet judicial standards. It was the most detailed look yet at how Team Duterte plans to fight the ICC charges.
Kaufman told the pre-trial chamber that the prosecution relied heavily on a handful of Duterte's inflammatory public speeches to establish intent to kill — while conveniently ignoring other statements where the former president emphasized lawful self-defense and warned police against abuses. "At this stage of the proceedings, the prosecution needs to show substantial grounds to believe that the former president actually desired and foresaw that people would be killed as a result of his language," Kaufman argued.
The defense also dropped a bombshell allegation: they claim newly disclosed prosecution materials include a transcript of a "covertly recorded telephone conversation" that supposedly proves efforts were made to funnel witnesses to the ICC while maintaining "plausible deniability" for Philippine authorities. It's the strongest version yet of Kaufman's theory that the Marcos administration played a backroom role in enabling the ICC case.
Kaufman described Duterte as a "unique phenomenon" in Philippine politics — controversial, blunt, and aggressive in rhetoric, but ultimately committed to public order rather than mass murder. He disputed claims by victims' counsel Joel Butuyan and questioned former Ombudsman Remulla's statements about the impossibility of domestic prosecution, saying those remarks didn't reflect the "totality of evidence" the defense has examined.
Perhaps most significantly, Kaufman accused ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan of failing to examine exonerating evidence as required under the Rome Statute — a procedural argument that, if successful, could undermine the entire prosecution. Whether the judges buy it remains to be seen. The hearing continues through Friday, and Kaufman still has more cards to play.
Source: The Manila Times
