BY ALEX ALAGON
- ICC lawyer silent on alleged revoked visitation rights for FPRRD’s partner
THE LEAD defense counsel for former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, is mum on the reason why Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña was barred from visiting the Davao City mayor-elect in the detention center in The Hague.
In a written interview posted by pro-Duterte supporter “Alvin & Tourism,” Kaufman addressed the growing public friction, attributing Avanceña’s statements to her “emotionally distressed” state.
When asked to provide the legal basis for the alleged suspension of Avanceña’s visitation rights, Kaufman was brief.
“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.
The statement comes after Avanceña made public claims that her visitation rights had been revoked.
Kaufman also responded to Avanceña’s concerns that he has not “personally engaged with or understood” the former president in a meaningful way, which she implied could hinder his defense.
“Honeylet Avanceña, so it would appear, is emotionally distressed for reasons on which, as I mentioned previously, I cannot elaborate,” Kaufman stated. “As a consequence, she is making all sorts of wild allegations which are being stoked by others.”
He dismissed her concerns by pointing to the former president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, as the arbiter of his professional conduct.
“The simple fact of the matter is that the Vice-President, as a lawyer herself, is fully qualified to judge the quality of my engagement with and work for the former President,” he added.
Finally, Kaufman sought to quash rumors of internal strife within the defense team, stating, “There are absolutely no internal disagreements among the persons responsible for handling the former President’s defense.”
He once again singled out former spokesperson Harry Roque, referring to him as “an irrelevancy” whose “comical intrigues” he is being “forced to spend far too much time” addressing.
He also confirmed that there are “absolutely no personal misunderstandings between those who are of importance to the former President.”
Photo courtesy of Kitty Duterte Instagram
