Palace questions Duterte lawyer Kaufman’s ‘gossip,’ wiretap claims

This report is part of Inquirer’s special coverage of Duterte at the ICC. For real-time updates, follow our live coverage of the confirmation hearing.

MANILA, Philippines — Palace press officer Claire Castro on Tuesday said that Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, lead legal counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is relying on mere gossip and questioned his stance on wiretapping after he claimed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought to “neutralize” the former chief executive.

These remarks came after Kaufman, during the first day of the confirmation of charges hearing against Duterte before the International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I, cited a document that supposedly contained a transcript of a telephone call between four parties, including a “silent partner” of Marcos.

READ: Kaufman: Marcos seeks to ‘neutralize’ Duterte, his legacy

“There is no truth to that. Kaufman is a lawyer but relying on mere gossip. Is he into anti-wire tapping?” Castro said in a Viber message to Inquirer, reacting to Kaufman’s accusations.

In his statement before the ICC, Kaufman did not identify the parties involved but claimed that Marcos’ “silent partner” was “boasting about managing a scheme” to influence the ICC case against Duterte.

“One of these parties was boasting, boasting about how he was acting as the silent partner of President [Marcos], managing a scheme to funnel witnesses to this court, while all the time ensuring that he could guarantee President [Marcos’] plausible deniability,” the lawyer said in the defense team’s opening statement.

“So it is indeed the defense case that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set out to neutralize Rodrigo Duterte, and his legacy,” Kaufman said.

“I use that legendary word, neutralize, so central and so essential to your case theory, because you know just as well as me that I’m using the term metaphorically,” he added.

READ: Palace says Kaufman should focus on case facts, not political rhetoric

Duterte is facing crimes against humanity charges before the ICC due to his administration’s bloody war against drugs, which killed at least 6,000 people based on government records and over 30,000 based on human rights records.

The confirmation of charges hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to elevate the case into a full trial.

The Chamber is expected to issue its decision on the confirmation of charges within 60 days after the confirmation hearing. /das