Roque will have to show more of his antics to the Duterte supporters, who still laugh at his clowning, to be relevant. But he will have a long difficult journey to redeem himself, if at all.

And if Marcos is indeed waging a “bloodless” drug war, how would he recognize the men and women in uniform who died in anti-illegal drugs operations?

Faced with tough challenges even before the trial begins, the Duterte camp is working to win the former president's case in the streets rather than through the legal channels, which they have long been trying to besmirch through black propaganda and other forms of disinformation.