Pres. Marcos Jr.’s Executive Secretary Asked about the Request of Duterte’s Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman
Marcos Jr.’s Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin reacted to the plea of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyer over his client’s return.
The arrest and the transfer of custody of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands caused political turmoil in the Philippine government. It also divided the once solid BBM-Sara supporters.
The President and the government were criticized over Duterte’s arrest. According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, Pres. Bongbong Marcos should allegedly be held accountable over her father’s arrest. She also believes that the ICC and the government allegedly colluded in the arrest and the transfer of the custody of the former President.
According to the Vice President, the ICC allegedly wants to pursue a case against the former President while the current administration in the Philippines supposedly wants her father away. She believes that the Chief Executive allegedly committed an impeachable offense.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is detained under the custody of the ICC in The Hague for more than five (5) months now. His confirmation of charges was initially scheduled on September 23 but the foreign court decided to postpone it “until further notice” after his lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, said that his client is “not fit to stand trial”.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyer also recently expressed his hope that the Marcos Jr. administration will allow his client to return home to the Philippines. Nicholas Kaufman’s plea is in line with their camp’s application for the interim release of the former President until all legal proceedings are done.
The recent remarks of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyer sparked questions on the side of the Marcos administration. Recently, Marcos Jr.’s Executive Sec. Lucas Bersamin was asked about the plea of Duterte’s camp for the former President to be allowed to return to the country.
Based on a report on Inquirer, Marcos Jr.’s Executive Sec. Lucas Bersamin stressed that the Philippine government does not care about the opinion of the lawyer of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. He even asked “who is Kaufman?”
“I am not too sure how to respond to that because that’s outside of our purview. Whatever opinions supposed lawyers have about their respective clients, we leave it to them. We should not be made to react because we do not care about their comments,” Marcos Jr.’s Executive Secretary said.
Previously, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that they are barred by the ICC to share information about their visit to former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte inside the detention center. Her statement came a few days after the Duterte family seemingly had a reunion inside the ICC detention facility as all four (4) children of the former President were allowed to visit him altogether.