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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte camp to make 'very strong rebuttal' of prosecution evidence in Sept. 23 trial—lawyer

Duterte camp to make 'very strong rebuttal' of prosecution evidence in Sept. 23 trial—lawyer

Published Aug 26, 2025 02:41 pm
The lead counsel in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to make a “very strong” rebuttal of the evidence to be presented by the prosecution during the Sept. 23. confirmation of charges hearing.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte and his lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman (Screengrab from ICC, ABS-CBN News videos)
Former president Rodrigo Duterte and his lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman (Screengrab from ICC, ABS-CBN News videos)
British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman shared about the defense’s plans for the confirmation of charges hearing, which will determine whether Duterte’s case will proceed to trial or not.

“Very strong rebuttal of prosecution evidence,” he responded when asked during an interview livestreamed on Alvin & Tourism Facebook page on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

The lawyer earlier said that he would be spending 30 minutes each for the opening and closing statements, and three to four hours to address the legal issues of the case.

Kaufman explained that the confirmation of charges hearing is where “the prosecution get the first opportunity to present their case, and the defense get their first opportunity to challenge the prosecution evidence.”

“Essentially, the prosecution have to convince the judges that there are substantial grounds to believe that the suspect, in this case, the former president, committed the crimes which the prosecution alleges he committed,” he added.

Proving that there are substantial grounds to proceed to actual trial requires “a higher evidentiary standard” compared to the “reasonable suspicion standard” required for the Chamber to issue an arrest warrant, the lawyer furthered.

It is during the trial phase that witnesses will be brought in to testify and their testimonies and evidence will be subjected to a cross-examination.

But Kaufman insisted that the burden to prove the case against Duterte lies with the prosecution.

“It's the prosecution who brought this case against the former president. It's the prosecution who have to prove this case against the former president. And they have to do it beyond reasonable doubt, assuming they satisfy the substantial grounds to believe,” he explained.

The hearing, which he said will be livestreamed but will have a 30-minutes delay to protect confidential information, will decide “whether or not certain charges are confirmed, then that is suitable to go forward to trial.”

While he doesn’t like to publicly share comments on the evidence that the defense team expects to be presented during the hearing because he is being scrutinized by the judges and the prosecution, the lawyer expressed confidence on their arguments.

“Personally speaking, I'm always confident. I can only speak for myself. I can't speak for the judges. We have a judicial process. We've done the best we can. We've argued everything possible. We just hope that the judges will agree,” he said.

Interim release, jurisdiction challenge

Meanwhile, Kaufman also believes that the Pre-Trial Chamber I will soon be out with its decisions on two remaining petitions—the interim release request and the jurisdiction challenge—by the Duterte camp.

“At the end of the confirmation of charges hearing, it's possible,” he stated when asked if the jurisdiction challenge will be resolved after the Sept. 23 confirmation of charges hearing. “However, I believe that the decision on the jurisdictional challenge will be earlier. Interim release, I believe, that should be within a few weeks.”

The defense earlier challenged the jurisdiction of the ICC on Duterte’s crimes against humanity charges, while the interim release petition seeks the former president’s release to an undisclosed territory from where he can await trial.

The lawyer explained that the PTC I can decide on the jurisdiction challenge “at any stage” although the defense camp wants the adjudication to come earlier because “we made the request a long time ago.”

As for the interim release request, he said that “the judges normally decide on that type of thing as soon as possible.”

“So, we anticipate within a week or two, we should have a decision,” he added.

The two petitions, however, will be “moot and academic” if they remain unresolved in case the PTC I did not find substantial grounds to continue the trial against the former president.

Related Tags

ICC Nicholas Kaufman Rodrigo Duterte confirmation of charges
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