FACT CHECK: Singer Lana del Rey not part of Duterte’s defense team

Claim: Lawyer Lana Del Rey is working to secure former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “absolute freedom” as part of his defense team in the latter’s crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: The quote card, posted on May 4, has already received 2,000 reactions, 179 comments, and 86 shares as of writing.
It shows a photo of singer-songwriter Del Rey wearing formal attire, beside Duterte’s portrait. The text on the image reads, “Atty. Lana Del Rey: ‘I will not rest. I will use every legal and political avenue available to secure his absolute freedom.’”

The post claims that the statement was made on April 28, citing MLGC News Online.
Additional text on the lower part of the graphic reads, “Let me be crystal clear: Rodrigo Duterte will not spend another day in confinement.”
“We are mobilizing resources across borders, from human rights advocates to national legal highest courts and beyond. We will not stop until he is exonerated and free. This is not just a defense; it’s a mission,” her team allegedly said.
The photo was posted in a Facebook group named “Sara Duterte Supporters” and prompted comments of gratitude from Duterte supporters.

The facts: The quote card is fake. The singer-songwriter is not a practicing lawyer, and she is not part of Duterte’s defense team. She did not make any statement supporting the former president, either.
A sparkle icon can also be seen at the bottom right corner of the graphic, indicating that it was generated using the artificial intelligence tool Google Gemini.
AI detection tool Sight Engine flagged the image as likely to be AI-generated. The image registered a score of 99.8% AI probability from Hive Moderation and a score of 97% AI probability from Undetectable AI. 

Rappler has previously debunked similar false posts portraying personalities, even fictional characters, as Duterte supporters. These include posts featuring How to Get Away with Murder character Annalise Keating and Breaking Bad character Saul Goodman. 

Vera Files has also fact-checked similar posts falsely claiming singer Sabrina Carpenter is part of Duterte’s defense team.
New lawyer: Duterte’s defense team was headed by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, who represented the former president in his crimes against humanity case at the ICC. On May 8, Kaufman requested the ICC to remove him as Duterte’s lawyer, saying the former president expressed “his desire to hire replacement counsel.” 

Duterte’s associate counsel, Dov Jacobs, also requested to leave the defense team, saying that Duterte’s reorganization is in preparation for the case’s trial phase. 

On May 11, the ICC Trial Chamber III granted Kaufman’s request, while Jacobs’ request to withdraw was earlier approved on May 8.

International criminal and humanitarian law expert Peter Haynes is being eyed as Duterte’s new lawyer. 

ICC case: On April 23, the ICC confirmed the charges against Duterte. This means that Duterte is going on trial, where prosecutors must prove that Duterte is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Duterte was arrested in March 2025 for charges of crimes against humanity due to his war on drugs campaign that killed over 30,000 individuals, according to rights groups. 

A warrant of arrest for Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who played a major role in the drug war as Duterte’s national police chief, has also been confirmed by the ICC. 

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has previously fact-checked similar false claims about supposed statements of support for Duterte: 

• FACT CHECK: Quote card on Duterte arrest cites fictional lawyer Harvey Specter 
• FACT CHECK: Quote card on Duterte arrest cites fictional lawyer Elle Woods 
• FACT CHECK: Quote cards on Duterte interim release denial cites fake ICC judge 
• FACT CHECK: Vice Ganda quote card on Duterte drug war, pandemic response is fake 
• FACT CHECK: Quote card about Duterte’s health cites fake doctor 
• FACT CHECK: Fake quote cards expressing support for Duterte cite fictional characters

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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