The legal team of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is seeking permission from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to submit findings from a recent Senate inquiry led by Senator Imee Marcos, as part of its strategy to challenge the prosecution’s opposition to Duterte’s request for interim release.
In a 10-page filing to the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I, Duterte’s international counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, asked to file a reply to the Office of the Prosecutor’s earlier objections. The defense team claims that the results of Senator Marcos’ committee probe support their argument that Duterte’s possible arrest and transfer to The Hague would be unlawful and politically motivated.
“If leave to reply is granted, the Defence will produce documentation clearly showing that the domestic unlawfulness of Mr. Duterte’s surrender represents official findings of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines,” Kaufman stated in the document.
The Senate committee, chaired by Senator Marcos, reportedly found that efforts to surrender Duterte to the ICC lacked due legal process and were influenced by political interests. Kaufman said these findings validate his earlier claim that any surrender would be an act of “political manoeuvering” aimed at “politically crippling” the Duterte family.
In June, Kaufman filed an urgent motion requesting Duterte’s interim release to an unnamed country that has allegedly expressed willingness to receive him. The name of the country remains redacted in public records. The ICC’s prosecution office, however, has urged the court to deny Duterte’s release, citing concerns over flight risk and the integrity of the proceedings.
Kaufman now argues that a reply to the prosecution’s opposition is essential to address what he calls “factual inaccuracies” and to provide further context supported by the Philippine Senate’s findings.
The ICC is currently evaluating Duterte’s role in alleged crimes against humanity related to the Philippine “war on drugs.” The tribunal has yet to rule on both the defense’s request to reply and the motion for interim release.
Legal experts say the introduction of domestic legislative findings may complicate the ICC’s deliberations, but whether it will significantly alter the course of the case remains to be seen.
Imee’s report on Duterte’s arrest shouldn’t matter in Duterte’s case under ICC now. His crime case against humanity weighs much heavier than Imee’s case on the way he was arrested. What really happened was that ICC issued a warrant of arrest, Interpol acted on it and collaborated with our Transnational Coordinator and PNP. PNP has commitments with Interpol, so they facilitated Duterte’s arrest, eventually surrendering him to ICC at The Hague. Many Filipinos are happy that he is finally caught and detained. Kaufman has no business including Imee’s report in his effort to defend Duterte and have him released. Imee’s report is a Philippine report and is owned by our govt especially so when Imee used her position and govt resources in conducting hearings and making such a report. ICC’s acknowledgement and agreeing with her report is tantamount to “making war” with our country and even contradicting their own efforts in trying to have Duterte be arrested with their own issued warrant of arrest. Kaufman is just too desperate to be freed of being Duterte’s lawyer by trying and even forcing the issue to the ICC and Philippines to have Duterte be released from ICC and be tried here in our country. Really coward if not stupid of him. He is hitting two birds with one stone here, with a devastating result of bluntly insulting the will and authorities of ICC and the Philippines govt. I believe that you think and feel that it’s futile being Duterte’s counsel what with the many evidences now submitted against him. You simply cannot defend him successfully! So why not just resign from being his counsel instead of confusing us and hassling ang causing more trouble in ICC? If I were one of the ICC judges, I will put you in contempt. How dare you try to let them, the ICC, agree with you and Imee against the Philippines and more so, against ICC’s order to arrest Duterte? You are being a fool. Stop wasting Duterte’s money and RESIGN as his counsel now. Your ways are stupid, you are stupid.