Lawyer sees speedy acquittal for Duterte

Medialdea, Roque  won’t be part of legal team

MANILA, Philippines —  The lead counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague is confident of his quick acquittal by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of charges of crimes against humanity.

“I am very confident that he will be acquitted; indeed, even at the shortest time possible,” British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman told TV5 / One News in The Hague.

Kaufman has been formally appointed as lead counsel for Duterte.

An ICC-accredited lawyer, Kaufman declined to provide details of his team’s defense strategy, but confirmed they would raise the issue of the former president’s arrest in the Philippines.

“We will be filing all necessary applications in due course,” he said. “(He) was completely denied all his rights in the Philippines. That will obviously be a heated argument in the course of his defense.”

Before Kaufman was formally recognized by the ICC as Duterte’s lawyer, Vice President Sara Duterte had confirmed his being tapped as lead defense counsel.

She also revealed that her father’s legal team will not include his former spokesman Harry Roque or his former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea.

She said foreign lawyers with experience in litigating cases before the ICC will represent her father in his trial for crimes against humanity.

Earlier, the Vice President announced that Roque and Medialdea would be part of the team headed by Kaufman. Roque used this as justification for his stay in the Netherlands, where he is applying for asylum. He has since been removed from the list of lawyers to represent Duterte before the ICC.

Facing complaints of human trafficking in the Philippines, Roque’s prospects of securing political asylum in the Netherlands appear dim.

He had evaded an arrest warrant issued by the House of Representatives over his involvement in an alleged scam farm in Porac, Pampanga.

“Since he has yet to establish the basis of his stay here in the Netherlands and we don’t want complications, we want the lawyers defending the former president to be focused on the case. And right now, he’s applying for asylum so we want him to focus on that,” the Vice President said.

Roque’s status is something “he has to discuss with former president Duterte. But right now he’s not nominated as a lawyer,” she added.

Interviewing

According to Duterte, she has been interviewing lawyers who have expressed interest in defending her father before the ICC. After assembling a foreign-led legal team, Medialdea will withdraw as counsel for the former president.

“I have more lawyers to talk to. There’s one arriving here for an interview to join the team. Once the team has been arranged, attorney Medialdea will withdraw because there are limited slots for lawyers and we want all the lawyers on board to have ICC experience,” Duterte said.

Medialdea represented Duterte during his first appearance before the ICC pre-trial chamber last Friday. He was taken to a hospital in the Netherlands this week due to health concerns.

The former president, who is running for mayor of Davao City in the May 12 midterm polls, is turning 80 on March 28. He is facing charges for crimes against humanity for his war on drugs.

His next appearance before the tribunal is on Sept. 23.

The Vice President also said her father remains at The Hague Penitentiary Institution’s hospital facility as doctors have yet to approve his release to his regular cell.

“He’s at the hospital part of the detention facility. All of them there are patient-detainees. He has yet to be released by the doctor,” Duterte told reporters. She did not say why he was staying in a medical facility.

“Maybe he’s not yet all clear based on doctors’ assessments. But he’s in very good spirits,” she added.

The Vice President said doctors in the facility have been given her father’s medical records and have taken note of his medications.

Staying in a ‘hotel’

While she has not seen where her father is staying, she assured his supporters that he is comfortable and feels like he is “staying at a hotel.”

“He told me he feels like staying in a hotel, but can’t get out,” Duterte said.

“I have to tell you: he is charming everyone inside. It’s his style, eh. He’s very friendly with people inside. They already exchange banters,” she added.

She said detainees are not allowed to talk to each other as they stay in individual cells. Her father’s interactions were limited to prison and medical personnel, she said.

“He said he has nothing else to do outside anyway since he has not yet been elected mayor (of Davao City). So, might as well live inside (the detention facility),” she added.

The former president also insisted against being visited by his other children.

“He said to not let my siblings come because they have nothing to do here unless they want to join him in detention,” the younger Duterte said.

She also relayed her father’s message to his supporters that he does not regret the things he did as president.

“He is aware of the March 23 protests (in The Hague). He said he was thankful for the support shown by our citizens. But he is concerned about the event disrupting here at The Hague, so we will ensure that the event will be coordinated with the local government or police so none of that happens,” she said.

She promised to return to the Philippines after assembling her father’s legal team.

Don’t forget VP duties

At Malacañang, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the Vice President should not forget her obligations to Filipinos despite her father’s situation.

“I believe she should think that the Philippines also needs her as Vice President,” Castro said at a press briefing.

“She should be working not only for her father, although that is acceptable and we can understand her feelings at the moment. But she should also remember, she says that millions of Filipinos voted for her and she also needs to serve them,” the Palace press officer said.

Castro earlier said Duterte was issued a travel authority by the Office of the President covering the period  March 11 to April 30.

Malacañang on Tuesday called for a probe on the projects of the Vice President when she was mayor of Davao City following the release of a list of alleged recipients of her office’s confidential funds with no personal records.

Duterte is facing an impeachment case over her alleged threats to the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez as well as her supposed misuse of her confidential funds. –   Neil Jayson Servallos, Helen Flores, Edith Regalado, Cecille Suerte Felipe