Former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea seems to be having a hard time adjusting to life outside the cozy confines of Malacañang.

His latest statement— denying that Rodrigo Duterte is in an ICC detention center despite official confirmation from The Hague—suggests he may still be operating under the old playbook of “deny, distract, and discredit.”

Unfortunately for him, The Netherlands is not the Philippines, where public officials can say anything and expect people to just nod along. Over there, facts actually matter. Fake news isn’t a government tool, and “Marites politics” has no place in international law.

Perhaps Medialdea is simply struggling with the European way of doing things—where when authorities say someone is in detention, they actually are. Or maybe he just misses the days when press conferences were more about spectacle than substance. Either way, it might be time for him to update his worldview—preferably before his next press release.