Palace's hidden hand?

Nicholas Kaufman, lead counsel for former President Duterte in the crimes against humanity case before the ICC, accused the President Marcos of acting as the "real prosecutor" behind the proceedings.

Kaufman claimed that the ICC investigation is politically motivated and orchestrated from within the Philippines.

"The real prosecutor in this case is actually in Manila, sitting in his palace. He's the person who threw President Duterte over here to The Hague.”

“He's the person who used the Office of the Prosecutor as a tool in his political campaign, and it won't work,” he added.

Duterte was arrested on 11 March at NAIA by state forces led by CIDG Director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III on a basis on a diffusion notice from Interpol.

He is suspected of murder, qualified as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.

Despite his arrest, Duterte and his family secured a landslide victory in Davao City’s mayoral race (his political bailiwick), defeating their long-time rivals, the Nograles family.

Kaufman described the results of the elections as a “finger in the eye to the people who threw him over here.”

"That's the real point of the elections. There was a protest vote," he said.

Aside from Duterte and his family, their allies both in the national and local levels also secured fresh terms after their successful feat in the recent midterm elections, which many considered a “protest vote.”

Senator Bong Go, Duterte’s closest ally, not only won re-election but also topped the senatorial race with over 27 million votes.

Senator Bato dela Rosa, Duterte’s former police chief and co-accused in the ICC case, also secured a fresh term.

Sagip Partylist representative Rodante Marcoleta was successful in his Senate bid, crossing over from the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Senator Imee Marcos and Las Piñas representative Camille Villar, both adopted late in the campaign by Duterte’s party PDP–Laban, also landed on “Magic 12.”