Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Defense Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman (R) speaks with Xavier Jean Keita of the office of public council for defense on March 27, 2014 at the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague during Charles Ble Goude's initial appearance. Michael Kooren, AFP/File

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Carmelle Lacuata

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17721117473111772111743642.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Defense Lawyer Nicholas Kaufman (R) speaks with Xavier Jean Keita of the office of public council for defense on March 27, 2014 at the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague during Charles Ble Goude&#x27;s initial appearance. Michael Kooren, AFP/File </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The defense team of Rodrigo Duterte argued that cases of drug-related and extrajudicial killings are not unique to the administration of the former president, even saying that drug-related killings increased during the first two years of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.</p><p>Defense lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman, during the third day of the confirmation of charges hearing at The Hague, cited the &quot;Dahas Project&quot; of the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center (UP TWSC) to argue that drug-related violence remained &quot;sky high&quot; even after Duterte left office.</p><p>“So with all the Prosecution’s fancy bar charts, I’m pretty sure that if they were to recreate them for the period of two years after Duterte left power, they wouldn’t have room left io their computer screen, the numbers would be so sky high,” he said.</p><p>A government &quot;RealNumbersPH&quot;data release acknowledges 6,252 killed in anti-drug operations between July 1, 2016 to May 31, 2022.</p><p>Kaufman said the Dahas Project figures suggest “there is no reason to believe that Duterte’s disappearance from the political scene would have frustrated the ongoing incidents of murder at the hands of state agents or vigilantes.” </p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid094hvwMeGzcQzqcBaErpuqJDHGbVtcTEQpH9eU1QHtu6WYERhcaiM629Keu3kX45kl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="790" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;WHY NOT INVESTIGATE MARCOS?&#x27;<br/></strong></div><p>Kaufman even asked why it seemed like nobody is interested in investigating the killings during the Marcos Jr. administration.</p><p>“Why are my colleagues seating to the right, the victims’ representatives, not clamoring for accountability for those deaths, or is it of no consequense now that Mr. Duterte is seating in the ICC detention center?” Kaufman added.</p><p>But for Atty. Michael Tiu, an assistant professor at the UP College of Law, killings under the current president do not erase the deaths during his predecessor&#x27;s</p><p>“Ibig sabihin lang noon, eh di kasuhan ninyo ‘yung sino pang involved pero hindi pa rin nagpapaabswelto doon sa ginawa niya,” Tiu, head of the International Criminal Law Program of the UP Institute of International Legal Studies, told ANC.</p><p>(That only means, file a case against others who are also involved, but this does not absolve him from what he did.)</p><p>He also said what Kaufman said about the number of arrests and cases closed during the Duterte administration does not mean that the killings are justifiable.</p><p>“Para sa akin hindi nakakatulong ‘yung kaunti lang naman ‘yung namatay. Kasi ‘yun namang sinasabi ng prosecution, 79 counts lang naman ito, pero sample lang ito noong kabuuang numero,” Tiu said.</p><p>(For me, it doesn’t help that he said there are only few who died. Because the 79 cases cited by the prosecution is just a sample, it is not the whole number of victims.)</p><p>“Mayroon pa ring namatay, hindi lang isa, dalawa. Ibig sabihin, hindi siya parang random, accident incidents. Talagang may pattern,” he added.</p><p>(There are people who died, not just one, not two. This means, it is not random, not accidental incidents. There is a pattern.)</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED&#x27; CHARGES</strong></div><p>Duterte&#x27;s legal team earlier alleged that the charges against Duterte are “grievously misplaced&quot; and &quot;politically motivated.&quot; </p><p>While acknowledging that his client was &quot;a unique phenomenon&quot; who was &quot;gung-ho in his ways&quot; and was full of &quot;hyperbole, bluster and rhetoric.&quot; </p><p>However, he accused the prosecution of &quot;cherry-picking&quot; through Duterte&#x27;s speeches, adding that many of them insist on the importance of sticking to the law.</p><div><a class="fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/23/duterte-maintains-his-innocence-absolutely-says-kaufman-1949">&#x27;Give Tatay Digong back to Filipinos&#x27;: Defense urges dismissal of &#x27;politically-motivated charges&#x27;</a></div><p>He likewise reiterated that Duterte&#x27;s arrest was unconstitutional, even accusing Marcos Jr. of breaking his promise that he will not work with the ICC. </p><p>Kaufman likewise argued that even without Duterte&#x27;s administration and his campaign against illegal drugs, the number of casualties in drug-related crimes would be the same due to the Philippines&#x27; location as a &quot;transit hub for trafficking of narcotics&quot; from China. </p><div><a class="fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/23/kaufman-says-marcos-set-out-to-neutralize-duterte-and-his-legacy-2114">Kaufman says Marcos set out to &#x27;neutralize&#x27; Duterte and his legacy</a></div><p>Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity over the alleged killings committed from 2011 to 2019, covering his terms as Davao City mayor and as president.  </p>

<p>The defense team of Rodrigo Duterte argued that cases of drug-related and extrajudicial killings are not unique to the administration of the former president, even saying that cases increased during the first two years of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.</p>

The defense team of Rodrigo Duterte argued that cases of drug-related and extrajudicial killings are not unique to the administration of the former president, even saying that cases increased during the first two years of his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

‘What about the Marcos regime?’: Defense argues EJKs not unique to Duterte admin

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‘What about the Marcos regime?’: Defense argues EJKs not unique to Duterte admin

Rose Carmelle Lacuata,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 26, 2026 09:27 PM PHT

Read More:

Rodrigo Duterte

ICC

International Criminal Court

confirmation of charges

Duterte sa ICC

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