Former President Rodrigo Duterte has “accepted his fate” and the possibility that he may die in prison as he faces charges before the International Criminal Court over his anti-drug campaign, his lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said.
“I was a faithful servant of the people, and that is how I wish to be remembered. I have now accepted my fate, and I realize I could die in prison,” Kaufman quoted Duterte as saying during the defense’s closing remarks.
However, Prosecutor and Senior Trial Lawyer Julian Nicholls asked the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I to strike from the record statements attributed to Duterte.
“None of that was responsive to arguments, which was what this last 30 minutes were about,” Nicholls said. “Second of all, my friend can’t testify for his client or make a speech for his client.”
He added that Duterte could have personally addressed the court if he wished to do so. “If he wanted to come here, he didn’t want to come here. He could have come here and talked about what he wanted to, but he chose not to,” Nicholls said, noting that the defense had earlier objected to hearsay.
As in previous hearings, Duterte did not attend the proceedings. He earlier waived his right to be present, maintaining that he does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction over him.
According to Kaufman, Duterte told him he had “done his duty” and “left his legacy.”
“Go to court and do your job, but I can never help you. I no longer remember much at all, and I can’t comment on people whom I do not know and on statistics that mean nothing to me,” Kaufman quoted the former president as saying.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor has charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity for alleged murder and attempted murder in connection with his time as mayor and later as president.
Kaufman said that during a recent visit, Duterte again questioned the basis of the charges.
“He asked me the same question he has asked for a year: ‘How does the prosecution say I did this?’” Kaufman said.
The defense lawyer said he informed Duterte that prosecutors told the Pre-Trial Chamber they believe they have sufficient evidence to convict him, even without relying on his public speeches.
“The former president repeated the question: ‘But how? I’ve never murdered anyone. But they talk about thousands?’” Kaufman said.
Duterte also told him he was unfamiliar with most of the prosecution’s witnesses, Kaufman added.
“Apart from two, whom he vaguely recalls from his days as mayor. Concerning one, his comment is ‘liar,’ and concerning the other, ‘scallywag,’” the lawyer said.
