$150M for Kaufman to Spin a Sinking Narrative

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — July 10, 2025

LET’S not pretend the International Criminal Court’s case against Rodrigo Duterte is a grand geopolitical chess game. It’s simpler, uglier: a reckoning for a man who turned the Philippines into a slaughterhouse, leaving 6,000 to 30,000 dead in his “war on drugs.” Yet, here we are, watching a farce unfold, with Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, and the Marcos administration’s mouthpiece, Claire Castro, trading barbs like actors in a bad telenovela. The hypocrisy is thicker than Manila’s smog, and the moral clarity is nowhere to be found.

Kaufman’s Desperate Deflection

Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s high-priced legal shield, wants to toss Senator Imee Marcos’s committee report into the ICC’s lap as “proof” of political maneuvering. This is less a defense strategy than a magician’s trick—look over here at the shiny “political persecution” narrative, not at the bodies piling up. The report, penned under Imee Marcos’s watchful eye, screams political theater. The Marcos family, once airlifted out of Malacañang in disgrace, now postures as the arbiter of due process for a man who bragged about tossing critics from helicopters. Spoiler: The ICC isn’t here for Manila’s soap opera. It’s here for the blood.

Kaufman’s argument—that Duterte’s arrest violated Philippine law—might thrill the home crowd, but it’s irrelevant in The Hague. The ICC exists because local systems like the Philippines’ spectacularly failed, convicting only four low-ranking officers for thousands of killings. If that’s “due process,” then impunity is the national anthem. Kaufman’s rumored $150 million fee (whispered on X, unverified but plausible) buys a lot of bluster, but it won’t erase Duterte’s own words: he ordered killings. The ICC doesn’t care about your senator’s report, Nicholas. It cares about corpses.

Castro’s Crocodile Tears

Enter Claire Castro, Palace Press Officer and lawyer, clutching her pearls over Kaufman’s “exorbitant fees” and urging him to “do better” (Inquirer.net, July 8, 2025). She’s not wrong—Kaufman’s fixation on politics dodges the gut-punch of Duterte’s admissions. But let’s not pretend the Marcos administration is a beacon of moral virtue. Their newfound love for the ICC only bloomed after a 2024 spat with Duterte, when political expediency replaced their earlier cries of “sovereignty.” Castro’s sanctimonious call to focus on the allegations is rich, given President Marcos Jr.’s initial resistance to the ICC probe. This isn’t justice; it’s a vendetta dressed in legalese.

Castro’s right that the ICC judges aren’t blind. They’ll see through Imee Marcos’s report, a document as credible as a tabloid horoscope, crafted by pro-Duterte senators in a hearing that was more performance art than fact-finding (Philstar.com, July 8, 2025). But her own government’s cooperation with the ICC is as sincere as a TikTok apology video—conveniently timed to weaken a political rival. The Marcoses playing the “rule of law” card is like a fox guarding the henhouse.

The Sovereignty Smokescreen

Duterte’s howls of “foreign interference” are a tired gambit. The victims of his drug war—overwhelmingly poor Filipinos like Kian delos Santos (17), Althea Barbon (4), and Myca Ulpina (3)—weren’t killed by The Hague’s bureaucrats. They were gunned down by a system Duterte proudly orchestrated. The ICC’s jurisdiction kicks in when local courts fail, and with 30,000 dead and near-zero accountability, Manila’s justice system is a graveyard of good intentions (Human Rights Watch, March 12, 2025). Duterte’s sovereignty shtick is just that—a shtick, one the Marcoses happily echo when it suits them. Imee’s report isn’t a defense; it’s a family feud masquerading as principle.

The Ghosts Demand Justice

Duterte’s bravado—boasting he’d “double the EJKs” if re-elected—isn’t just a legal liability; it’s a moral indictment. The ICC’s task is to prove these weren’t mere tough-guy quips but a systematic policy of slaughter. The evidence is overwhelming: over 1,000 items disclosed to the defense, Duterte’s own admissions in 2024 congressional hearings, and the cries of victims’ families (ICC Official Statement, March 12, 2025). Kaufman’s procedural nitpicking won’t bring back Kian, Althea, or Myca, children whose only crime was being born poor in Duterte’s Philippines. This “war” treated poverty as a death sentence, and no Senate report can whitewash that.

A Scathing To-Do List for the Morally Challenged

To the ICC: Cut through the noise. This case isn’t about Manila’s political squabbles—it’s about whether a leader can orchestrate mass murder and retire to a beach villa. Spoiler: He shouldn’t. Focus on the evidence, not the melodrama.
To Kaufman: If you’re charging nine figures, at least craft a defense that doesn’t collapse under scrutiny. “Political persecution” might play on SMNI News, but the ICC runs on facts, not conspiracies. Try harder.
To Castro: Drop the holier-than-thou act. Your boss’s sudden ICC enthusiasm is as principled as a used-car salesman’s pitch. Push for real police reform, not just press releases.
To Manila’s Elites: Stop treating justice as a pawn in your power games. The dead deserve better than your bickering.

The Final Reckoning

The ICC’s legitimacy is on shaky ground, but letting Duterte walk would be its death knell. This case is a test: Will the court be a watchdog for the powerless or a lapdog for the powerful? In the Philippines, political elites squabble over scraps of influence while the ghosts of the drug war—Kian, Althea, Myca, and thousands more—lie silent. Their blood demands a verdict, not a circus.

Key Citations

Philstar.com, July 8, 2025: Reports Claire Castro’s urging for Kaufman to focus on disproving EJK allegations rather than political maneuvering.
Inquirer.net, July 8, 2025: Details Castro’s critique of Kaufman’s defense strategy and alleged exorbitant fees.
International Criminal Court, March 12, 2025: Official ICC statement on Duterte’s custody and the charges against him for crimes against humanity.
Human Rights Watch, March 12, 2025: Discusses Duterte’s arrest on an ICC warrant and the context of his drug war’s human rights violations.
GMA News Online, March 27, 2025: Covers the Senate committee report led by Imee Marcos, alleging violations of Duterte’s rights during his arrest.