International human rights lawyer Atty. Nicholas Kaufman has pushed back against recent criticisms from Malacañang Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro, following remarks she made about his legal approach in defending former President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In response to Castro’s statement that “he should do better than that,” Kaufman said in a GMA News Online report in a pointed rebuttal, “I’d kindly thank Claire Castro not to interfere with the job I’m doing just as much as I wouldn’t interfere with the job that she’s doing, peddling misinformation of her own administration.”
The verbal exchange stems from the Duterte defense team’s move to request the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I to allow them to respond to the Office of the Prosecutor regarding their petition for interim release. A central argument in their request includes a Senate panel report from the Committee on Foreign Relations, which opposes Duterte’s arrest and detention.
Castro earlier criticized the use of this report as a legal argument, warning that it may do more harm than good and calling on Kaufman to focus instead on the substance of the charges, including the former president’s public statements on the drug war. She emphasized that such political documents might not hold weight before international judges, citing their impartiality and legal standards.
