MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Monday blasted Nicolas Kaufman, legal counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court (ICC), for claiming that that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. interfered in the case of the former president.
In a statement, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro tagged as “preposterous” Kaufman’s claim that Marcos schemed with several others, whose identities he did not disclose, to influence witnesses in the ICC case.
“Kaufman has the temerity to accuse President Marcos of trying to neutralize Duterte's legacy. That is preposterous,” Castro said.
“He seems to be the one suffering from severe cognitive impairment, and not his client, because he tremendously forgets the timeline, since the crimes against humanity cases were filed before the International Criminal Court in 2017, when President Marcos, Jr. was still a private citizen,” she added.
The Palace official also asserted that Kaufman “does not offer a clear defense” for Duterte, who was charged for allegedly committing crimes against humanity in connection with his bloody campaign against illegal drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and later on as president.
“He should learn the facts of his case rather than focus on political rhetoric,” Castro said.
She maintained that Duterte is not guiltless, recounting a time when one of his former Cabinet secretaries and also a member of his legal team, Silvestre Bello III, “admitted that Duterte killed someone by throwing him out of a helicopter.”
