Former President Rodrigo Duterte appearing at Pre-trial Chamber 1 of the International Criminal Court

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte said their family is likely to seek legal aid from the International Criminal Court for the compensation of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte lawyers in his crimes against humanity case. 

“Sa ngayon ay wala kaming pinag-uusapan ng abogado pero nagpahiwatig na ako sa kanya [ex-president Duterte] na kung pwede mag-apply ng legal aid diyan sa loob ng ICC at patuloy namin na pinag-uusapan ito,” she said in a virtual press conference with members of the media Thursday. 

“Kahapon may meeting kami, hindi namin na take up ang topic ng budget pero alam niya dahil noong isang araw ay sinabihan ko na siya na malaki ang posibilidad na mag-apply kami ng legal aid at hindi ito privately funded case,” she said. 

The former president’s legal team is headed by British-Israeli international law expert Nicholas Kaufman whose appointment has been finalized by the ICC. The vice president is still mum on the exact composition of her father’s defense team. She has earlier announced that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who initially announced seeking asylum in the Netherlands because he needs to defend the former president, is not included as one of the lawyers of the former leader. 

So far, compensation for the lawyers has not been discussed yet according to the vice president but likely they will apply for legal aid. 

“Sa ngayon, kailangan pa namin pag-usapan ng abogado kung ano ba ang mangyayari sa gastusin sa kanyang kaso. Pero as I said, kanina, nag-express na ako sa lawyer initially na there are discussions and moves on the part of our family to apply for legal aid,” she said. 

Atty. Kaufman

The vice president said she was the one who chose Kaufman as the top lawyer of her father and endorsed his nomination to the former president. 

According to the former president’s daughter, as soon as her father was flown to The Hague, she already moved to look for lawyers to defend him at the ICC. Among the top choices were Kaufma who has had an extensive experience defending heads of state at the ICC. 

“May inutusan ako na abugado diyan sa Pilipinas na mag-interview ng mga lawyers ng mabilisan lang. Si Nick Kaufman ang nasa top 3 ng listahan na ‘yon,” she said. 

“At base sa briefer na ‘yun ng abogado base sa interview na ginawa niya sa mga abogado at sa kanyang — ano bang tawag diyan, vetting, vetting ‘no, pinili ko si Nicholas Kaufman. And habang nasa ere si President Duterte, sinabihan siya at sinabihan ko lahat ng may contact sa kanya, even ako kasi nakausap ko siya sa telepono, sabihin niya pagdating niya dito na si Nicholas Kaufman ‘yung kanyang abogado,” she said. 

“Ako ang nagsabi kay President Duterte kay Nicholas Kaufman. Kung palpak man si Nicholas Kaufman, ako po ang mananagot sa taumbayan,” she said. 

Kaufman is an international law expert with 34 years of practice. He previously represented former Congo Vice President Jean Pierre Bemba and former Central African Republic (CAR) minister Maxime Mokom, who were also charged with crimes against humanity before the ICC.