Is Duterte too frail to remember, or simply too defiant to face the music? Even his own prosecutor has described him as an “unreliable historian” of his health. He adjusts the story as needed. The “sickly” act is a shield , one that spares him the gaze of mothers and children who lost loved ones in the drug war, some of whom have traveled to The Hague seeking justice. By remaining in his cell, he preserves the tough-guy image for supporters back home.

Presiding Judge Iulia Antonella Motoc to Nicholas Kaufman: The Chamber, therefore, urges the Defence to place substance over stylistic and theatrical formulation.

In styling himself an international law expert, retired Justice Antonio Carpio has only managed to tie himself up in contradictions. His recent attempt to defend his ponencia in Magallona v Ermita (2011) only tightens the knot he now struggles to untangle. The landmark case had sought to declare Republic Act No. 9522 (2009) or the Archipelagic Baselines Law unconstitutional.