VP Sara yet to meet Duterte's new ICC lawyer

Vice President Sara Duterte said she has not yet met Peter Haynes, the lawyer who replaced Nicholaas Kaufman as her father’s counsel before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Hindi. Hindi ko na-meet ‘yung counsel,” the Vice President said in an interview in The Hague, Netherlands on May 12, when asked if she had already met the new ICC lawyer of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

(No. I haven’t met the counsel.)

READ: Who is Peter Haynes?

The ICC Trial Chamber III earlier granted Kaufman’s withdrawal as Rodrigo Duterte’s counsel in his crimes against humanity case.

According to the Trial Chamber, Kaufman made his request to withdraw on May 8, indicating that the former Philippine president expressed a desire to release him from his representation and hire another counsel to replace him.

Kaufman was officially replaced by Haynes, a former president of the ICC Bar Association.

Asked about her opinion about the appointment of Haynes, Sara Duterte said all matters regarding the case of her father should just be left to the ICC.

“Iwan nalang natin sa ICC ang mga official announcements sa kaso ni dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte kasi kahit ano pa namang sabihin natin dito sa labas, kung hindi ‘yun order o utos ng ICC ay wala din katuturan,” she explained.

(Let’s just leave the official announcements in the case of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the ICC because no matter what we say outside, if they are not orders or directives from the ICC, they are meaningless.) —VAL, GMA News