Inihayag ni Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, lead counsel ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, na hindi umano makikibahagi si Digong sa confirmation of charges hearing na gaganapin sa Pebrero 23, 24, 26, at 27 sa pamamagitan ng video conference.
“The former President (Duterte) will not participate in the confirmation hearing through video-conferencing,” sinabi ni Kaufman, lead counsel ng dating Pangulo.
“Nor did the former President willingly appear by way of such technology at his initial appearance,” ani Kaufman nitong Martes, Pebrero 17.
Matatandaan na nagpakita si Digong pagkatapos siyang dalhin sa International Criminal Court (ICC) sa pamamagitan ng video conference noong Marso 2025.
“His co-counsel at the time, Attorney Salvador Medialdea, requested a postponement of that hearing fixed for a Friday to an in-court hearing on the following Monday, to allow me to arrive in The Netherlands to represent him as his counsel of choice, and specifically to raise the issue of legal competence,” saad ni Kaufman.
Ngunit ayon kay Kaufman, ang naturang hiling ni Medialdea ay tinanggihan, “then, still dazed from hospital medication, in a tasteless suit not of his own, he was positioned, slumped in front of a camera to be told that a prison doctor had deemed ‘fully mentally aware and fit’.”
Tumanggi namang magbigay ng komento si Kaufman kung dadalo si Digong sa confirmation of charges hearing nang personal o iwe-waive ang kanyang karapatan na dumalo sa pagdinig.
Ulat ni Jilliane Libunao