An emotional Honeylet Avanceña, partner of former President Rodrigo Duterte, revealed in an interview with pro-Duterte vlogger Maharlika that she was denied permission to visit Duterte, who is currently detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands.
Duterte is being held on charges of crimes against humanity filed before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
According to Avanceña, it was Duterte’s legal counsel, Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, who barred her from visiting.
“Sinabi ko kay Mr. Kaufman, ‘I have nothing against you. Please don’t deprive us of… or (let us) ask other people or ask legal opinion from other lawyers,’” Avanceña said during the interview.
She believes Kaufman’s decision stemmed from her seeking legal advice from another lawyer regarding Duterte’s ICC case.
“Sabi ko nga sa kanya, ‘Baliktad kaya tayo, ikaw kaya ang nasa loob. Ano kayang gagawin ng asawa mo?’” she added.
In a separate interview, Kaufman declined to comment directly on Avanceña’s claims.
“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,” Kaufman stated.
He further noted that Vice President Sara Duterte—not Avanceña—has the standing to assess whether he is properly carrying out his role as Duterte’s legal counsel.
“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.