Malacañang rejected allegations raised before the International Criminal Court (ICC) that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought to undermine former President Rodrigo Duterte and his legacy.
The accusation was made by ICC defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman during the opening of the confirmation-of-charges hearing against Duterte.
Kaufman claimed that Marcos allegedly acted to “neutralize” his predecessor, citing a supposed transcript of a phone conversation in which one party allegedly boasted about being a “silent partner” of the President and managing a scheme to funnel witnesses to the ICC while ensuring Marcos’ “plausible deniability.”
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro dismissed the allegation as “preposterous.”
“Kaufman has the temerity to accuse President Marcos of trying to neutralize Duterte’s legacy. That is preposterous,” Castro said.
She stressed that the crimes against humanity complaints linked to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign were filed before the ICC in 2017 — at a time when Marcos was still a private citizen.
“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,” she added.
Castro also criticized Kaufman for allegedly failing to directly address the accusations of extrajudicial killings tied to Duterte’s tenure as mayor and later as president.
“Kaufman does not offer a clear defense for his client’s alleged extrajudicial killings, which reportedly happened during Duterte’s time as mayor,” she said.
The Palace official further noted that one of Duterte’s legal counsels, Silvestre Bello III, had previously 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 added.
During his opening statement, Kaufman referenced an undisclosed document allegedly containing a transcript of a telephone conversation among four unidentified individuals. He claimed that one participant boasted of orchestrating efforts to influence witnesses involved in the ICC proceedings.
“So it is indeed the defense’s case that President Marcos Jr. set out to neutralize Rodrigo Duterte and his legacy,” Kaufman said.
Malacañang maintained that the allegations were baseless and politically charged.
