Duterte counsel: Marcos set out to neutralize Duterte
Published Feb 23, 2026 08:30 pm
Former president Rodrigo Duterte's lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman (Photo courtesy of ICC)
Former president Rodrigo Duterte's lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman has alleged that President Marcos was "set out to neutralize" his predecessor and his legacy.
"So it is indeed the defense case that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set out to neutralize Rodrigo Duterte and his legacy," Kaufman claimed on the first day of Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday evening, Feb. 23, Manila time.
In a strongly worded statement, Duterte's counsel also claimed the existence of a telephone conversation "covertly recorded" between four parties where one claimed to be Marcos' "silent partner" to funnel witnesses to the ICC while ensuring Marcos' "plausible deniability.”
This, Kaufman said, appeared to be an "exonerating evidence" that can now "substantiate what we have suspected for a long time."
"The document comprises a transcript of a telephone call covertly recorded between four parties who cannot be mentioned in public, and one of these parties was boasting, boasting about how he was acting as the silent partner of President BBM, managing a scheme to funnel witnesses to this court while all the time ensuring that he could guarantee President BBM's plausible deniability," Kaufman bared.
The defense also continued to claim that "Duterte was unconstitutionally and unceremoniously hauled off to The Hague."
Stressing the political maneuvering tied to proceedings on the charges against Duterte, Kaufman pointed out "a contrast between him (Duterte) and his successor in Malacañan.
"For President Rody, his word was his word, and the people knew it. For President Bongbong, his word is for the wind, and the people will not forget it."
Duterte's provocative remarks not enough to prove criminal liability
Kaufman asserted that the former president's highly provocative remarks amid the implementation of war on drugs were not enough to prove that he must be criminally liable for the deaths that occurred during the bloody "drug war."
"I will declare it loudly and clearly, as if the prosecution didn't know it already. It's not enough to state that since the former president made those extremely inflammatory statements and deaths occurred, that he must, as a matter of course, be criminally responsible for those fatalities," Kaufman said during his opening statement.
He pointed out that the prosecution must show substantial grounds to believe that Duterte "actually desired and foresaw that people would be killed as a result of his incendiary language."
"For the prosecution to assert that Rodrigo Duterte hoped for deaths to occur, or was relentlessly indifferent as to whether deaths would occur, which he was not, that's insufficient," Duterte's counsel said.
Kaufman further stressed that Duterte's language was not aimed at suspected drug pushers "but directly at those poisoning society with their substances."
"His rhetoric was calculated to arouse fear and obedience, to instill fear in their hearts, and to inculcate a respect for the law in their minds. Nothing more, nothing less. That was his intent, and it was not criminal," he said.
Kaufman's allegations preposterous, Palace says
Malacañang has described the allegation of Kaufman as "preposterous," stressing that he has forgotten the timeline of when the cases against Duterte were filed before the ICC.
"Kaufman has the temerity to accuse President Marcos of trying to neutralize Duterte's legacy. That is preposterous," Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a statement on Monday night.
"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," Castro added.
The Palace official stressed that Duterte's counsel did not give "clear defense" for Duterte's alleged extrajudicial killings, and schooled him to "learn the facts of his case" rather than rhetoric.
"Kaufman does not offer a clear defense for his client’s alleged extrajudicial killings, which reportedly happened during Duterte's time as mayor. In addition, one of the counsels, Silvestre Bello III, admitted that Duterte killed someone by throwing him out of a helicopter. He should learn the facts of his case rather than focus on political rhetoric," Castro said.