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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
March 17, 2026 | 5:01pm
Nicholas Kaufman, the defense counsel of former president Rodrigo Duterte, appears before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the chamber delivers its decision on his interim release appeal on November 28, 2025.
Screenshots / ICC
MANILA, Philippines — The Palace on Tuesday, March 17, slammed former president Rodrigo Duterte's counsel Nicholas Kaufman, accusing him of politicking instead of defending his client at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Kaufman had told NewsWatch that it had been one year since Duterte was “betrayed” by the administration.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, who has already traded barbs with Kaufman before, said that it has indeed been one year—one year since the victims of Duterte’s drug war were able to see a ray of hope for justice.
“It is not the President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] who betrayed the Filipinos, but the perpetrators and co-perpetrators in the commission of the crimes against humanity who betrayed and continually betray the Filipino people,” Castro said in a press conference in Cebu.
“Here, Kaufman goes again, politicking instead of defending his own client. Pamumulitika. Is he preparing for the 2028 elections?” she added.
Castro has already previously questioned Kaufman over his fixation with the Marcos administration rather than building Duterte’s defense. The Palace official went as far as pondering if Kaufman is no longer focused on saving Duterte, but helping someone else’s political career.
The former president was turned over to the ICC by police forces on March 11. Duterte is currently in The Hague for crimes against humanity of murder.
An estimated 6,000 to 30,000 people were killed during Duterte’s drug war.
