A coalition of organizations representing victims of the Philippines’ “war on drugs” has issued a statement expressing “grave concern and alarm” over what they call repeated attempts by former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's defense counsel to misrepresent facts before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The groups accuse Defense Counsel Nicolas Kaufman of professional and legal misconduct that they say is undermining public confidence in the judicial process and eroding victims' trust in the ICC’s ability to deliver accountability.
The emailed statement, signed by organizations including the Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court (PCICC) and the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), cites two specific instances of alleged misrepresentation.
The groups claim Kaufman inaccurately claimed in a June 12, 2025, court filing that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) had agreed to Duterte’s interim release. The OTP later explicitly denied this.
More recently, the groups allege Kaufman mischaracterized remarks made by Presidential Press Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro to support the defense’s request for interim release.
The defense filing quoted Undersecretary Castro’s statement regarding the ICC proceedings: “Whatever the decision of the [ICC], the government [of the Philippines] will accept it.”
The victims’ organizations contend that Kaufman “twisted its meaning and implications into support for an assertion that the Philippine government does not oppose the Defense’s request for interim release.”
This, they argue, transforms the Philippine government’s “clear deference to the Court into an acquiescence to the Defense.”
“In the face of such dangerous disinformation, all who can must act decisively to protect the integrity of these proceedings and safeguard the trust placed by the victims in the vision of international justice,” Dr. Aurora Parong, Co-Chairperson of the PCICC, said.
The coalition pointed out that the deliberate misrepresentation is “not harmless or victimless” and does not fall under the reasonable scope of zealous advocacy.
They contend that the actions amount to a pattern of “deliberately professing deceptive, misleading claims akin to conveying direct disinformation.”
“Distrust and doubt are fostered among the victims and communities impacted by crimes against humanity in the Philippines when the repeated overreach of counselors like Mr. Kaufman continues to obscure the truth of proceedings… Their pain and suffering is further deepened by manipulation and unethical tactics from counsel that makes a mockery of and undermines their hopes for a trustworthy legal process,” Rubilyn Litao, Coordinator for Rise Up for Life and for Rights, said on the impact on those directly affected.
The groups highlighted that “multiple victims have approached our coalition of civil society organizations expressing shock and alarm that the OTP and the Philippine government had agreed to the Defence request for interim release, quoting directly the misleading filing made by Mr. Kaufman.”
The signatories called on the Court, the OTP, and the Philippine government to take decisive action to protect the integrity of the proceedings.
Specifically, the coalition requested:
The OTP and the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) to proactively work to counter all forms of disinformation and initiate applications for disciplinary sanctions against Kaufman.
The Philippine government to disavow Kaufman’s claims and consider disciplinary measures against him for distorting its official position.
The Court itself, particularly the Pre-Trial Chamber, to impose disciplinary sanctions on Kaufman for his repeated misrepresentation of facts.
