FORMER executive secretary Salvador Medialdea and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque will no longer be part of the defense team that would represent former president Rodrigo Duterte in his trial for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC), Vice President Sara Duterte said on Tuesday night.
The vice president, who is at The Hague in the Netherlands to support her father, said his defense team will be led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman.
She said that since there are only a few slots allocated for defense counsels, their family has decided to prioritize those who are experienced in ICC trials.
“Mayroon pa akong mga kakausapin na mga lawyers ‘no? Mayroon pang darating na isang abugado, i-interview ko siya para sumali sa team and then, once maayos na ‘yung team for ICC, magwi-withdraw si Atty. Medialdea kasi meron lang limited na mga slots for lawyers (I still have to talk to other lawyers. Another one will come, I’ll interview him so he could be part of the team and once the defense team for the ICC is completed, Atty. Medialdea will withdraw because there are only a limited slots for lawyers and we want all the lawyers on board to have ICC experience,” she told reporters after a brief second visit to the former president.
ICC judges last Friday rejected Medialdea’s pleas to the pre-trial chamber, particularly his claim that the 79-year old Duterte was unfit to stand trial because of his medical conditions.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I was led by Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, a Romanian, who said doctors already checked Duterte and declared that he was fit to stand trial.
The judges also ignored Medialdea’s claims that Duterte’s arrest was kidnapping and his transfer to the ICC’s custody was political on the part of the Philippine government.
Sara said Roque, who has announced his intention to seek political asylum in the Netherlands to avoid the arrest warrant issue by the House of Representatives against him, has not been nominated to be a member of the elder Duterte’s defense panel.
“Hindi pa kasi na-establish kung ano yung basis ng pag-stay niya dito sa Netherlands (The basis for his stay here in the Netherlands is not yet established) and we don’t want complications,” she said.
She added: “Gusto namin nakatutok talaga yung lawyers doon sa kaso (We want the lawyers to be focused on the case) and right now he’s, I heard, applying for asylum? He publicly announced that already, so we want him to focus on his asylum and then we want our lawyers to focus on the case.”
‘CHARMING’
The younger Duterte said her father is in high spirits and remains at the hospital facility of the Hague Penitentiary Institution where he is “charming” people.
“I have to tell you: he is charming everyone inside. It’s his style. He’s very friendly with people inside. Mayroon na silang banter (They’re having a banter already),” she said.
However, she said she could not say for certain if the former president was having a conversation with detention center staff or with other detainees since, to her knowledge, detainees not see each other since they have separate rooms.
“One detainee lang (only) per room. ‘Yun ang pagkakaalam ko ha? (That’s what I know). Hindi ko lang alam kung (I just don’t know if) they see each other somewhere sa (in the) hallway or saan sila kumakain (or where they eat),” she said.
Sara said the former president was “comfortable” despite the cold temperature and even told her: “Para akong nasa hotel except hindi ako makalabas (It feels like I’m in a hotel except that I can’t go out).”
The second highest elected official of the country said the penitentiary’s physician did not release the elder Duterte yet and his doctors have already taken note of the list of the medicines he regularly needs to take.
“Binigyan ng copy and records ang mga doctors doon sa loob (The doctors were given a copy of [his medical] records. And they have taken note (of) the list of (his) medicines,” she said.
