CHICKENPIE.The ICC didn't buy it.
Duterte's lawyers reportedly tried to plant fake "nanlaban" evidence — the classic Filipino excuse for extrajudicial killings — to discredit the prosecution's case. The court caught it. Now the trial continues with a new charge of attempt to pervert the course of justice.
Chester the chicken would've just shown up at the ICC hearing with a manila folder labeled "NANLABAN EVIDENCE" and a nervous grin. That's kind of the whole problem with this defense. You don't need a law degree to know that fabricating evidence is a crime. The fact that they tried it anyway tells you everything about how the old regime operated: rules were for people who got caught. Everyone else got promoted.
The Senate hearings back home had the same energy — folders held up like props, witnesses coached on what to say, and the occasional tearful press conference when things got too hot. The courtroom theatrics are just the sequel.
What makes this different? The ICC doesn't answer to local politics. No Senate colleagues to protect, no admin back home to lean on. Just evidence, procedure, and an international court that has no interest in being a prop in someone else's political drama.
The nanlaban defense worked at home because the system was designed to let it work. In The Hague, it's just another exhibit in the case for accountability. And Chester? He's still outside the courtroom, holding his sign. Some things never change.
The ICC doesn't answer to local politics.
Daily Art Caricature by Chickenpie
