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Australia pledged P1.2 billion in maritime aid to the Philippines, including new drones for the Philippine Coast Guard, amid concerns over China's conduct at sea. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong highlighted China's recent missile test as 'provocative and destabilising' and called for transparency in such activities. The aid is part of a larger P6.8 billion, 10-year program to expand maritime cooperation with Southeast Asian partners, Cristina Chi reports for the Philippine Star.

The Department of Budget and Management has announced 22.79 billion pesos in savings under National Budget Circulars 602 and 603, a Palace official said on House of Representatives. Of that amount, 12.37 billion pesos has been allocated to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for family assistance, with the remainder directed to agriculture support, worker protections, overseas Filipino workers' aid, and energy and transport programs. The savings will focus on communities affected by the Middle East crisis, the official said.

Death threats against President Marcos coming from the Duterte family are nothing the President has not heard before, a Palace official said at a Malacañang briefing aired on House of Representatives.

"Hindi po ito bago sa Pangulo," she said ["This is not new to the President"], adding that the President is aware of the threats to his life. She said concerned security agencies are obligated both to protect the President and to investigate the threats. "Buhay po ng pangulo ang pinag-uusapan dito," she stressed ["We are talking about the President's life here"].

She said security arrangements should be strengthened to the extent that the threat demands.

The President retains his confidence in the armed forces even after the National Bureau of Investigation named active soldiers as persons of interest in an alleged plot to kill him, a Palace official said at a Malacañang press briefing aired on House of Representatives.

"Nandoon pa rin po ang tiwala ng Pangulo sa ating mga kasundalo," the official said ["The President's trust in our soldiers is still there"]. She added that those who would betray their mandate to protect a single person's interests — against the state and against the Constitution — must be identified.

The statement came a day after NBI Director Melvin Matibag testified before the impeachment court that active AFP soldiers were among persons of interest in the alleged assassination plan targeting President Marcos.

The President will comply with whatever the impeachment court orders regarding Vice President Sara Duterte's tax records, but will follow the law and seek authorization from the Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner, a Palace official said on RTVM Presidential Broadcast. Under Section 71 of the Tax Code, the BIR must obtain consent from the President before disclosing tax records of the Vice President, the official explained. The Court of Tax Appeals can override that requirement if tax fraud or evasion is alleged. "If it's the decision of the impeachment court, the BIR will seek Residence Authorization," the official said, adding that as of broadcast time the administration's position remained that the legal process must be followed.

The President will not address Vice President Sara Duterte's ongoing impeachment trial in Monday's State of the Nation Address, a Palace official said on RTVM Presidential Broadcast. Asked whether the trial would feature in the speech, the official said the matter is not on the administration's priority list for the SONA. The trial has dominated headlines since charges of culpable violation of the Constitution were filed against the Vice President in December 2024.

The Palace stopped short of committing the BIR Commissioner to releasing Vice President Duterte's tax records if ordered by the impeachment court, saying the commissioner's willingness "cannot be said" at this stage.

The tension centers on competing legal authorities: the tax code requires presidential consent, but the Court of Tax Appeals operates under its own mandate to investigate tax crimes without waiting for that approval. If the impeachment court orders release and the President does not block it, the Palace suggested it will comply — but the BIR Commissioner's discretion remains a potential bottleneck, the broadcast indicated.

Prosecutors asked the impeachment court to issue an order compelling the Bureau of Internal Revenue to unseal Vice President Sara Duterte's tax records, citing concerns about financial entanglement, the RTVM Presidential Broadcast reported.

Under section 71 of the tax code, the BIR must obtain the president's consent to disclose a vice president's tax records. However, prosecutors noted that the Court of Tax Appeals already does not require presidential authority when investigating tax fraud or evasion — creating a legal tension the court must now resolve.

The Palace said it would follow the law and the impeachment court's orders. "The president will follow the process and it must be based on the law," a Palace spokesperson told the broadcast. But whether BIR Commissioner Charlene Yabes will authorize release remains unclear. "As of now we cannot say a categorical answer from the President. But whenever possible, the President says it will use process and it must be based on the law," the spokesperson added.

A Bases Conversion and Development Authority official said 500 megawatts of solar power have already been secured to help meet energy demands for the Pax Silica development.

"Mayroon na po tayo actual na 500 megawatts" ["We already have an actual 500 megawatts"], the official said while speaking on House of Representatives, adding that supply will build alongside demand.

The project is expected to require three gigawatts of power at full development.

Speaking on RTVM Presidential Broadcast, a BCDA official said the Pax Silica project could attract multinational semiconductor companies capable of generating up to $200 billion in export potential annually. The official cited Texas Instruments and Samsung — both already operating in the Clark Free Economic Zone — as examples of the scale of companies the project is designed to attract. At full buildout, Pax Silica is projected to generate $40 to $70 billion in total investment, significantly above the initial $10 billion phase, the official said.

The Pax Silica industrial zone at New Clark City has the potential to create between 130,000 and 190,000 direct jobs at full buildout, according to projections presented on the RTVM Presidential Broadcast. An infographic shown during the presentation also estimated 500,000 to 800,000 indirect jobs across the wider economy. At full development, the project could attract between $40 billion and $70 billion in total investment, according to the speaker, compared with the $10 billion in initial investment required to build internal infrastructure. The presentation also projected potential annual withholding tax revenue of ₱68 billion to ₱75 billion and $200 billion in export potential.

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Philippine and Chinese foreign ministers met in Manila for the first time in two years, raising mutual grievances over a July 20 confrontation involving Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro accused China Coast Guard personnel of entering the shoal, while Wang Yi countered that it was Philippine soldiers who provoked the incident. The meeting highlighted rising political and maritime tensions between the two countries in the West Philippine Sea, Rappler reports.

A reporter at the House of Representatives press conference on July 23, 2026 asked whether senator-judge Robin Padilla, having challenged the prosecution over neutrality, should put the same question to the defence in the spirit of fairness.

Private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa said senator-judges may direct clarifying questions to both parties. "We will leave it to the senator-judge to make that determination," Tolosa told the briefing.

The question lands after Padilla said publicly that justice is neutral and that the prosecution's duty is not to win but to seek truth — a framing the prosecution has rejected, saying winning and truth are the same goal.

Prosecution spokesperson Benjamin Tolosa Jr. pushed back Thursday on Senator-Judge Robin Padilla's assertion that justice is neutral and that prosecution's role is not to win but to protect the innocent, telling the House of Representatives briefing that the two goals are inseparable.

Tolosa said Padilla had told lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro: "Ang tungkulin ng Prosecution ay hindi para manalo kundi para sa katotohanan" ["The duty of the Prosecution is not to win but to pursue the truth"].

"Ang posisyon namin, we're on the side of the truth. Hindi mo siya magkahiwalay," Tolosa said ["Our position is we are on the side of the truth. You cannot separate them"]. He said the prosecution's case rests on strong evidence, and that the truth being revealed would itself deliver the verdict they seek.

The prosecution's legal spokesperson, Benjamin Tolosa Jr., said the presiding officer's conduct reminder was not a reprimand and his team would continue to comply with the subjudice rule, speaking at the House of Representatives post-hearing briefing on Thursday.

"It was not an admonition, it was just a reminder," Tolosa said. He added that both he and the defence spokesperson, Michael Wesley Poa, had been careful so far, and pledged to keep all future statements within the exemption for fair and accurate reporting.

Tolosa also said he would personally scale back what he called "spoilers" in his briefings to avoid any future complications.

Speaking on House of Representatives, private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa told the impeachment court that the scope of cross-examination by the defence is narrow and specific. Cross-examination questions are permissible only where there is "a material fact or official record or institutional finding" that has been contradicted by prosecution testimony, Tolosa said. He added that once the prosecution has laid out its evidence, "the impeachment court, the constitution" grants the court itself the authority to weigh whether "the grave threats" alleged have been "weakened" by defence cross-examination questions.

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China has begun two days of live-fire drills near the Taiwan Strait from Thursday, July 23. The exercises are set to run daily from 6 am to 6 pm around Dongshan Island and bordering Guangdong province. This comes a day after talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on various issues, including Taiwan's sovereignty. China previously held extensive war games encircling Taiwan in December following the announcement of an $11.1 billion arms package for the island by the United States, Rappler reports.

Senator-judge Robinhood Padilla clarified that his 'one-sided' remark during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte was a call for fairness and due process, not an attempt to favor either witnesses or senator-judges. He cited House prosecutor Leila de Lima's remarks about potential changes in the number of votes required for conviction if some senator-judges are legally unable to participate. Padilla stressed that all legal remedies should first be exhausted to allow senator-judges to perform their duties, Javier Joe Ismael reports for The Manila Times.

China Coast Guard blocked two Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, despite repeated warnings. 'We urge the Philippines to immediately cease its infringing and provocative actions,' said a China Coast Guard statement while reaffirming sovereignty over the disputed shoal.

The Philippine Coast Guard and the embassy did not respond to requests for comment, GMA News reports.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s foreign policy has expanded defense cooperation amid China's assertiveness, with more visiting forces agreements signed than under any previous administration. Ambassador Laura del Rosario discusses the trajectory in an upcoming interview on Friday, July 24, at 6 pm (PHT), Marites Dañguilan Vitug reports for Rappler.

The prosecution has been criticized for a double standard in handling witnesses and senator judges. 'Pwede pa rin husha ang iupo sa witness. Kung talaga naman husha ayasak si sa isang particular panggayari,' said Atty. Benjamin J. Tulos, House Secretary. The panel stressed the importance of fair treatment for all parties involved in the impeachment proceedings.

The House Prosecution panel has warned that the impeachment process may be one-sided, emphasizing the need for transparency in the proceedings. 'Mamamaya na interesado rin silang palama na kapag matahasong official natin, matahasong inasahan natin na level ng pananagutan,' said Rep. Teri Ridon of We Called Sarah Partylist. The panel is set to establish Article IV, specifically Grade III, and will clarify the accountability of officials.

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Lieutenant General Michael Logico has been named the new Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), succeeding Vice Admiral Caesar Bernard Valencia. In remarks during the change of command ceremony, PMA's military chief, General Antonio Nafarrete, highlighted Logico's extensive experience in military training and leadership roles. 'Under Lieutenant General Logico’s leadership, the PMA will continue to produce officers of character, competence, and unwavering commitment to the nation,' said Nafarrete, expressing confidence in his new appointee, GMA News reports.

Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said the Philippines remains on track to achieve its goal of becoming an 'agile export powerhouse' by 2028, with a focus on completing pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with the European Union, Canada, and Chile. She stated, 'Yes, we are on track. We just need to complete the free trade agreements so he’ll [President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] go down in history with 23 free trade agreements, the most ever.' The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) projects exports of $116.1 billion to $120.2 billion in 2026, up to $135.1 billion by 2028, despite global economic uncertainties, Bless Aubrey Ogerio reports for BusinessMirror.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro raised concerns to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi about a recently released AI-generated video depicting a Filipino as a 'stupid monkey,' despite Beijing's denial that it was government-sanctioned, Malou Talosig-Bartolome reports for BusinessMirror.