The defense counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte has withdrawn his bid to have Filipino victims’ lawyers disqualified by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman informed the Court he is taking back his request to appeal the dismissal of his disqualification plea against lawyers Joel Butuyan and Gilbert Andres, as well as their appointed case manager Nicolene Arcaina.
“The present notification is without prejudice to any further recourse available to the Defence in order to raise the issue of what it perceives to be an impediment to representation on the part of the Common Legal Representatives for Victims (CLRVs),” Kaufman said.
Kaufman sought the Filipino lawyers’ disqualification “on the basis of conflict of interest,” further alleging that Butuyan and Andres are “impediments to representation.”
Butuyan and Andres jointly replied that Kaufman’s disqualification bid was “[R]ife with internal contradictions…not even contemplated by the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (the “Rules”), and the Code of Professional Conduct for counsel.”
The ICC ruled in favor of Butuyan and Andress, saying Kaufman failed to show any reason to disqualify the Filipino lawyers as common legal representatives of victims of Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.
The ICC Pre-Trial I chamber threw out Kaufman’s attempt ahead of the Confirmation of Charges hearings against Duterte last February.
What’s next?
The ICC on its website announced that its Pre-Trial Chamber I shall be holding deliberations on the arguments presented during the confirmation of charges hearings on Monday and Tuesday (March 23 and 24) and Thursday and Friday (March 26 and 27).
Meanwhile, Malacanang Palace adviced Kaufman to already start defending his client accused of crimes against humanity and stop aiding the political ambitions of certain politicians in the Philippines.
Reacting to Kaufman’s accusation of the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government’s “kidnapping” of Duterte a year ago, Presidential press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said it seems that Kaufman is no longer focused on saving Duterte but helping someone else’s political career.
“Here, Kaufman goes again, politicking instead of defending his own client. This is plain politicking. Is he preparing for the 2028 elections?”
Duterte’s daughter, Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has declared her presidential bid in the next Philippine national elections. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
