Defense team: ICC list of Duterte co-perpetrators 'completely lacking in truth'

The defense team of former President Rodrigo Duterte described Saturday the list released by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of alleged co-perpetrators in his crimes against humanity case as "completely lacking in truth."

In a message to GMA Integrated News, Duterte's lead defense counsel Atty. Nicholas Kaufman said the former president and his team "have known the identities of the alleged co-perpetrators for almost a year."

"And as required by the Court, [we] have guarded them in absolute confidentiality. This puts to lie the utter falsity of the claim that the former president's interim release would endanger the integrity of the Prosecution's investigation," Kaufman said.

On Friday, the ICC released the lesser redacted version of the Document Containing the Charges (DCC) submitted by the Prosecution, which carried the names of eight alleged co-conspirators including incumbent senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Christoper Lawrence "Bong" Go.

Also included in the list were former police officials Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan, Oscar Albayalde, Isidro Lapeña, former NBI director Dante Gierran, former Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, and other members of the PNP and high-ranking officials.

Kaufman said he had a meeting with the prosecution, wherein he stated that the document containing the charges would have to be less redacted for the parties to "make meaningful submissions at confirmation for the benefit of the public."

"Accordingly, the Prosecution has now revealed the names of what it alleges to be criminal co-perpetrators—something that we will prove to be completely lacking in truth. None of these co-perpetrators are, in my opinion, currently subject to arrest warrants," Kaufman said.

He also called the reporting of the list "sensational" and "politically motivated."

"It flies in the face of prosecutorial logic to seek further warrants in the Philippines situation before the decision of the Appeals Chamber on the former President's jurisdictional challenge. The sensational reporting of this list, however, is clearly politically motivated and designed to decimate the Senate in the hope of perverting the democratic will of the Filipino people," Kaufman said.

GMA Integrated News has requested comment from the ICC regarding the release of names.

In a statement, Go said he was recently been made aware of the allegations referenced in the redacted version of the DCC issued by the ICC from the Office of the Prosecutor on February 13, 2026.

"I dispute these allegations which are entirely unfounded, one-sided, unfair and bear no relation to the reality of my roles and responsibilities during my service as Special Assistant to the President from June 2016 to October 2018 as well as Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Davao City from 1998 to 2016," Go said.

"Let me be clear, at no time did I have any involvement in, knowledge of, or authority over these allegations," the senator said.

GMA Integrated News is seeking the responses of Senator Ronald dela Rosa, as well as Lapeña, Albayalde, Danao, and Aguirre. Cascolan passed away on November 24, 2023.

The ICC scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing on the Duterte case starting February 23, 2026. The former president has since been detained by the ICC for 11 months. — VDV, GMA Integrated News