Metro Manila, Philippines – Former President Rodrigo Duterte and his family have the last word on the composition of the defense team should the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirm the crimes against humanity charges and proceed to trial, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said.
Speaking to pro-Duterte vlogger Alvin & Tourism after visiting Duterte at his detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands, Kaufman said he was hired for the confirmation of charges proceedings held on Feb. 23 to 27.
“I have been hired for a specific purpose and that was for the confirmation proceedings. We concluded the confirmation proceedings. We hope that we will succeed in not having the charges confirmed,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman said should the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber confirm the charges, Duterte will decide on the lawyers who would represent him in the trial.
“However, if the charges are confirmed, then it remains to be decided whether I will stay on or not. It’s not my decision to make, it’s the decision of the former president himself. He’s the client, he decides. He decides, obviously, in consultation with his family,” he said.
Interim release
Kaufman said Duterte’s legal team will continue seeking interim release despite the ICC Appeals Chamber’s rejection of the request for temporary freedom.
In a ruling dated March 6, the Appeals Chamber upheld the earlier decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber on Jan. 26, which ordered Duterte to remain in detention while judicial proceedings continue.
“The Appeals Chamber confirms Pre-Trial Chamber I’s ‘Decision on the review of Mr. Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s detention’ of 26 January 2026,” the ruling said.
Duterte’s defense said the Pre-Trial Chamber committed errors when it refused to rely on a medical report submitted by the defense and when it concluded there were no new or changed circumstances that would justify Duterte’s release.
The Appeals Chamber upheld the lower court ruling, saying the defense failed to demonstrate grounds to modify Duterte’s detention order.
Kaufman said the defense will continue pushing for Duterte’s release, citing the former president’s age and health condition.
“We will always ask for his release because he should be released. Listen, he’s an 80-year-old man. He walks with a cane down the prison corridor. He shuffles because he’s fallen over a number of times in prison. So the risk of flight is purely theoretical as far as I’m concerned. We’ve discussed them at the confirmation hearing,” he said.
