Some supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte shared fabricated cards claiming that personalities like Annalise Keating, Elle Woods, and Johnny Sins spoke against the International Criminal Court‘s move to hold him in custody.
A social media user on Facebook posted a quote card that appeared to be from CNN which featured an image of Annalise, a character from the legal drama “How to Get Away With Murder,” who supposedly claimed Duterte’s ICC arrest was “illegal.”
The quote also states that the Philippines had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute and adds that the former president’s arrest was a “blatant violation” of the country’s “sovereignty and the rule of law.”
“This isn’t justice; it’s political persecution. Free Duterte now — or face the consequences,” she supposedly said.
The quote card additionally claims Annalise is a Harvard University professor and a “public international law expert.”
The fictional character is played by American actress Viola Davis.
Another social media user from TikTok also posted a similar quote with an image of Elle Woods, a character from the “Legally Blonde” movie franchise.
The quote also included a logo of NBC News.
Elle is played by American actress Reese Witherspoon.
Meanwhile, another social media user posted a quote card on the group “Duterte Supporters International” featuring Johnny Sins’ image, claiming he is a “world-renowned lawyer.”
The quote similarly claims he believes Duterte’s arrest was “illegal” and that he was “willing” to offer his “services” to the former president for free.
Johnny Sins is not a lawyer but an American adult film performer and YouTube personality.
Screengrab of a Facebook post in the group “Duterte Supporters International” uploaded on March 16, 2025
RATING: These are fake.
Facts
There are no instances where Annalise or Elle, both fictional lawyers, have made such comments about the ICC and Duterte’s arrest.
There are no quote cards from CNN that state Annalise made such statements.
Similarly, no such quote cards or comments can be found from NBC News attributing such words to Elle.
Although both are portrayed as lawyers, the characters are fictional and, therefore, cannot comment on real-life issues like Duterte’s ICC case
There are also no quotes or statements from legitimate sources indicating that Johnny has volunteered to be part of Duterte’s legal team.
Johnny has no legal background and is primarily known in the adult entertainment industry.
Meanwhile, the ICC in its Philippine situationer dated March 17 states that it still “retains jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed in the Philippines while the country was a State Party to the [Rome] Statute.”
The Philippines was among the signatories of the Rome Statute, a treaty that grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes — crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity like murder; rape; imprisonment; enslavement, war crimes, and crime of aggression.
The international tribunal is intended to complement national criminal systems and does not aim to replace them.
On its website, it said that the ICC only prosecutes cases when “States do not are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.”
Manila became a State Party in 2011 and made known its withdrawal in 2018, which took effect in 2019.
While the Philippines already withdrew, the ICC said in its report that it “retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that occurred on the territory of the Philippines while it was a State Party, from 1 November 2011 up to and including 16 March 2019.”
The ICC is looking into the alleged crimes against humanity of murder committed in the context of Duterte’s controversial “War on Drugs” campaign he launched during his presidency.
Police said the campaign has recorded over 6,000 fataliies, but human rights organizations believe it was as high as 30,000.
Why we fact-checked this
The Facebook post featuring Annalise has garnered over 56,000 reactions and 3,000 comments. It has also been shared 21,000 times on the platform so far.
Meanwhile, the TikTok post featuring Elle has been circulating across different accounts on the mobile video platform. Typing the keywords “Elle Woods Philippines” brings up various online users posting the fake quote card.
As of writing, both the Facebook and TikTok posts remain uploaded.
A Facebook post claiming Johnny was offering his “pro bono services” to Duterte is also circulating on supporter groups of the former president. It can still be seen by online users.
Duterte was arrested over a warrant issued by the ICC about his alleged crimes against humanity case.
While the country is no longer a State Party, the Philippines is still a member of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), which can seek to arrest the former president on behalf of the ICC.
Duterte is currently in the custody of the ICC at The Hague in the Netherlands.