Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, lead counsel for former President Rodrigo Duterte, asserted that the former president had nothing to do with destroying any evidence in his war against illegal drugs.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla recently claimed that due to the significant challenge of destroyed or absent evidence, the Philippine government has chosen not to pursue the war on drugs cases, particularly those involving the former president, and let the International Criminal Court (ICC) take over.
Kaufman emphasized that destroying evidence is a criminal offense, and it was not done in FPRRD’s request or on his behalf.
“That’s Justice Remulla’s claim that evidence was destroyed. I don’t believe it. He might believe it, but I’m telling you, it’s not true and it was not done,” Kaufman said in an interview in The Hague, Netherlands on Thursday.
Kaufman underscored that he does not believe that the evidence had been destroyed.
Kaufman refused to comment on Remulla’s pronouncement that the Justice Department will extend financial support to witnesses who may be called to testify in FPRRD’s trial in connection with his drug war, as it touched on politics.
However, he said that once witnesses come to court, FPRRD’s legal team will cross-examine these witnesses.
Meanwhile, Kaufman also reacted to the pronouncements of lawyer Kristina Conti, assistant counsel to the ICC, on FPRRD’s interim release as “unethical interference,” adding the former tried to ignore the latter’s “ramblings.”
Conti claimed that no country has gone on record as willing to host FPRRD in his interim release request.
The former president’s legal team filed a petition with the ICC on June 12, requesting interim release to a third country.
Kaufman expressed optimism that the request for the interim release of the former president will be decided within this month.
