Metro Manila, Philippines – The lead counsel of Rodrigo Duterte trained his arguments on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who, he said, was “set out to neutralize” his predecessor, in a rebuttal to the prosecution at the beginning of the confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, Feb. 23.
British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said Duterte was “unconstitutionally and unceremoniously” sent to The Hague in the Netherlands for his crimes against humanity case in relation to the bloody war on drugs.
In his opening statement at the Pre-Trial Chamber, Kaufman recalled the letter Marcos signed that the Philippine government will not “assist the ICC in any way, shape or form,” and that the chief executive “failed to keep that promise.”
He said the ICC prosecution has a document, supposedly a transcript of a call covertly recorded between four parties that were not named, that could substantiate suspicions regarding Marcos.
“One of these parties was boasting, 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,” the British-Israeli lawyer said.
“So it is indeed the defense case that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set out to neutralize Rodrigo Duterte and his legacy,” he added.
Malacañang called the allegation “preposterous.”
In a message to reporters, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Kaufman forgets that the complaints were filed with the ICC in 2017, when Marcos was still a private citizen.
“Kaufman does not offer a clear defense for his client’s alleged extrajudicial killings, which reportedly happened during Duterte’s time as mayor,” Castro said.
“In addition, one of the counsels, Silvestre Bello III, admitted that Duterte killed someone by throwing him out of a helicopter,” she said. “He should learn the facts of his case rather than focus on political rhetoric.”
While the Philippines is no longer an ICC member since the withdrawal in 2019, the international court said it retains jurisdiction on alleged crimes that occurred during the country’s membership period from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.
In March 2025, Duterte was arrested via an ICC warrant coursed through the Interpol. He was detained at the tribunal’s detention center in The Hague in the Netherlands.
ICC prosecutors charged Duterte with three counts of murder and attempted murder over the alleged extrajudicial killings.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber granted Duterte’s request to skip appearances at the confirmation of charges hearing.
Judges will determine through the pre-trial hearing whether there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to a full trial.
