Lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman has downplayed former presidential spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque’s involvement in the legal strategy of former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling Roque “an irrelevancy."

In an interview with Netherlands-based pro-Duterte vlogger Alvin & Tourism on Friday, Kaufman insisted that there are no internal disputes among those managing the former president’s defense.

“There are absolutely no internal disagreements among the persons responsible for handling the former President’s defense,” Kaufman said. “Harry Roque is an irrelevancy and my only regret is that I am being forced to spend far too much time having to deal with his comical intrigues.”

The statement follows Roque’s statement on 30 July defending his actions and reiterating that he offered a domestic legal remedy out of loyalty and concern for Duterte. Roque denied interfering with ICC proceedings and said any criticism of him was a form of character assassination.

He also noted that Vice President Sara Duterte was aware of his proposal to file a case against the Netherlands for Duterte’s “rendition.” Kaufman emphasized that Roque had no authority to take such steps and warned that it could risk essential cooperation from Dutch authorities on Duterte’s interim release.

“This is not the first time I’ve heard such a crazy scheme,” Kaufman said in an earlier interview with the Facebook vlogger. “To initiate a case in the Netherlands, against the Netherlands, would be a big mistake.”

Honey not let in?

Kaufman also clarified his position on recent claims made by Roque regarding the visiting rights of the former president's longtime partner Honeylet Avanceña. “For judicial reasons and out of respect for family privacy, I am not going to comment on the veracity of Honeylet Avanceña’s allegations concerning her presence not being desired at the ICC detention center,” he said.

Asked about her criticism of his relationship with Duterte, Kaufman said, “Honeylet Avanceña, so it would appear, is emotionally distressed for reasons on which, as I mentioned previously, I cannot elaborate. As a consequence, she is making all sorts of wild allegations which are being stoked by others.”

He added that Vice President Sara Duterte, a lawyer herself, is fully capable of assessing the quality of his engagement with the former president.

Kaufman previously disclosed that Duterte had “expressed no desire to see Harry Roque nor to be assisted by him,” citing concerns that Roque, who faces legal cases in the Philippines, could compromise the defense.