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Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio stated that China cannot prevent the Philippines from constructing structures at Ayungin Shoal. Carpio said the shoal is part of the country's exclusive economic zone under the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling, asserting the Philippines' right to erect artificial structures without seeking permission from any state.

Carpio also questioned the legality of any reported arrangement that would require prior notification or consultation with China before sending vessels to Ayungin Shoal or constructing structures there. He noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has not publicly released the text of the provisional agreement with China, adding that such an agreement could undermine the country's freedom of navigation and sovereign rights under UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral ruling.

In a statement, Carpio said the DFA was 'now in a bind' because China had publicly disclosed that Manila supposedly agreed not to resupply the BRP Sierra Madre without prior notice and consultation and not to build on Ayungin Shoal, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro raised a strong protest against China over an attack by the China Coast Guard (CCG) on Philippine Navy personnel at Ayungin Shoal, during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. accused Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan of downplaying President Marcos' meeting following the incident, while retired Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio hinted that the DFA might be in a difficult situation after China disclosed an agreement with the Philippines on handling issues in Ayungin, Pia Lee-Brago reports for the Philippine Star.

Press photographers were attacked by police during a demonstration near the Philippine International Convention Center, where an Asean Foreign Ministerial Meeting was taking place. The Press Photographers of the Philippines (PPP) and the Photojournalists Center of the Philippines (PCP) condemned the incident as a violation of press freedom. PPP demanded a swift and transparent investigation by the Philippine National Police (PNP). Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) also denounced the acts of aggression against journalists performing their duties, Aric John Sy Cua reports for The Manila Times.

A China Coast Guard vessel that stayed inside Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal for nearly a week has departed following an incident with the Philippine Navy, according to SeaLight. The close approach of the Chinese vessel reportedly left a Filipino sailor injured when he was struck on the head while defending the outpost. The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea rejected China's claim that it authorized the medical evacuation, stating that Chinese personnel conducted dangerous blocking maneuvers during the operation, Franco Jose C. Baroña reports for The Manila Times.

The prosecution in Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial concluded its case against her on Article 4, accusing her of contracting the alleged assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others. National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag served as the last witness for the prosecution. The defense team cross-examined Matibag but did not request a redirect examination. Lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro stated that no further questioning was necessary. Meanwhile, the impeachment court issued subpoenas to various financial institutions and approved new witnesses for future hearings, GMA News reports.

A recent OCTA Research survey shows that 64% of Filipinos distrust China, down three points from the first quarter of 2026. The poll was conducted during a week marking the 10th anniversary of the arbitral ruling in the West Philippine Sea dispute. President Ferdinand Marcos met with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan to discuss an incident where Philippine Navy personnel were assaulted by members of the China Coast Guard in Ayungin Shoal, Janvic Mateo reports for the Philippine Star.

Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio stated that China cannot prevent the Philippines from constructing at Ayungin Shoal, part of the country's exclusive economic zone under a 2016 arbitral ruling. Carpio said, 'The arbitral award declared Ayungin Shoal part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. In the EEZ, there is freedom of navigation and overflight for all states.' He added that as the adjacent coastal state, the Philippines has the exclusive sovereign right to erect artificial structures on Ayungin Shoal without seeking permission from any state.

In response to a statement by Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan, who blamed the recent confrontation between China Coast Guard and Philippine Navy personnel at Ayungin on a violation of a 2024 provisional agreement, Carpio maintained that 'That's against the spirit of the provisional agreement.' The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro raised the Philippines' protest over the recent Ayungin Shoal incident during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as Manila pressed Beijing on maritime disputes despite renewed diplomatic engagement. Lazaro reiterated the country's consistent positions and concerns over actions that have infringed on Filipino personnel safety. Both ministers discussed political and security matters, regional developments, and cooperation in various sectors, emphasizing the importance of maintaining open channels of communication and resolving disputes peacefully, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro conveyed Manila's strong protest over injuries suffered by Filipino servicemen during a recent confrontation with China Coast Guard (CCG) personnel at Ayungin Shoal, in her meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Lazaro also renewed calls for the dismantling of Chinese structures in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal and highlighted offensive depictions of Filipinos in state-controlled media. The incident has sparked further tensions in the West Philippine Sea dispute, with both sides blaming each other for obstructing humanitarian medical evacuations, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

The Philippine military on Wednesday rejected claims that Beijing permitted a medical evacuation from Ayungin Shoal, saying the operation required no foreign approval, The Manila Times reports.

"The Philippines does not ask for, nor does it require, the permission of any foreign nation to conduct operations within its own Exclusive Economic Zone," the Armed Forces of the Philippines said in a statement.

The military called the China Coast Guard's assertion a "false narrative intended to project illegitimate authority," following Tuesday's joint mission with the Philippine Coast Guard at the BRP Sierra Madre.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan to protest an attack on a Filipino sailor at Ayungin Shoal, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

"President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. already summoned Ambassador Jing Quan yesterday, and he firmly conveyed the Philippines’ protest over the violent actions against Filipino Navy personnel," DFA maritime affairs spokesperson Rogelio Villanueva Jr. said, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.

Jing disputed the characterization, saying the meeting was "not a kind of diplomatic protest" but a "constructive" exchange of views on bilateral relations.

An NBI official told House of Representatives that investigators examined a sworn affidavit from former Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas as part of open-source intelligence gathering.

Defense counsel pressed the witness on whether the agency issued a subpoena or directly verified the document with Lascañas, which the official acknowledged was not done.

"Kaya kung hapo ikinekuento yung bumpangayari para mo makita kung paano mo kami dumating dun sa punto na ginamit po doon sa pattern of violence," the witness said ["That is why I am recounting what happened, so you can see how we arrived at the point where it was used in the pattern of violence"].

Defense counsel questioned the relevance of a 2011 video showing Vice President Sara Duterte confronting a court sheriff during cross-examination on House of Representatives.

An NBI official testified that investigators reviewed the 15-year-old incident under a five-factor framework for establishing an alleged pattern of behavior.

"Under po dung sa five factors namin, ang tiniting na dito nating sa pattern of violence is the historical behavior," the witness said ["Under our five factors, what we look at here in the pattern of violence is historical behavior"].

A lead in the investigation, speaking in impeachment court, mentioned that the level of security of the information is such that it does not need to be known by the cybercrime division, as per a statement made in the presence of multiple officials and attendees at a Philippine Senate session.

The NBI director Melvin Matibag said there is an ongoing investigation into grave threats and inciting to sedition, but no ongoing investigation into alleged threats against VP Sara Duterte. The director also mentioned that no subpoena has been issued under their leadership.

Speaking on Impeachment Traila, the NBI director clarified that the ongoing investigation pertains to the leads on the alleged person involved in the threats against Vice President Sara Duterte, and that no subpena has been issued to such person under his leadership.

Day 8: NBI Director Ties Duterte Threat Claims to Special Task Force in Impeachment Trial

Speaking on House of Representatives, the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has started with the Sergeant at Arms directing all persons to keep silent under pain of penalty while the impeachment court is in session. The clerk of court has been instructed to call the roll., said the Presiding Officer of the Impeachment Court, as seen on the House of Representatives broadcast.

— stream ended.

The prosecution told the press conference on House of Representatives that the National Bureau of Investigation did not treat the VP Sara Duterte threat as a media story — it formed a special task force to investigate it.

A panel member said this showed the threat was taken seriously at the institutional level, not just flagged as a viral video. "Kumikilos na ang aming mga investigative agencies and bodies natin," the prosecutor said ["Our investigative agencies and bodies are already acting on it."] The NBI's special task force formation, the panel argued, independently corroborates its witness's testimony that the threat was "concerted and active."

The prosecution rebutted the defense's hyperbole argument Wednesday by citing what it says is Vice President Sara Duterte's own admission, speaking on House of Representatives.

A member of the prosecution panel said the VP did not merely utter a vague threat in anger — she allegedly identified the targets by name and gave explicit instructions to a person she had already contacted. "Sinabi niya, be relentless, huwag titigil hanggang hindi mo sila napapatay," the prosecutor said ["She said, be relentless, don't stop until you've killed them."] The panel said she named President Bongbong Marcos, Lisa Marcos and Martin Romualdez as the intended targets.

"It will be a completely different story if it was just uttered in a single event," the prosecutor said. The panel argues the VP went further — admitting she had already arranged an agreement to carry out the plan and gave operational instructions.

The prosecution panel, speaking on House of Representatives, said the NBI director's account of the threat against the President carried the weight of an official institutional finding, not a personal opinion.

"This is the report of the NBI, it's institutional report that he already testified to," a panel member said at the July 22 press conference, in remarks that appeared directed at the defense's effort to undermine the director's credibility on cross-examination.

A member of the prosecution panel, speaking at the House of Representatives press conference on July 22, listed the words that kept appearing across evidence and testimony in the grave threats case — and called them a cause for alarm.

"Ang maririnig mo nalang palagi: ulo, ugot, living, hukay, bloodbath," the panel member said. ["All you keep hearing: head, uproot, living, grave, bloodbath."]

The speaker told House of Representatives reporters the threat was never conditional. "Talagang active threat po talaga siya, which continues to be," he added. ["It is truly an active threat, which continues to be."]

The prosecution panel, speaking at the House of Representatives press conference, laid out the questions it says the impeachment court must now answer: whether the vice president's words and actions show she still deserves to hold the country's second-highest office, whether she betrayed the public trust placed in her, and whether she committed a serious violation of the Constitution.

"Para sa amin maliwanag na kung sinasabi ng ebidensya na nailatag namin dito," a panel member said. ["For us, the evidence we have presented speaks clearly."]

The panel added it would wait for the defense to present its own evidence before the court reaches a final decision, but said it was confident the prosecution's case had already been made.

The NBI director who testified yesterday concluded, after examining the totality of circumstances, that the vice president's threat against the president was not an isolated online clip, a prosecution panel member told reporters at the House of Representatives press conference on July 22, 2026.

"Hindi siya isang viral video lamang. Ito ay isang concerted and active threat," the panel member said, quoting the NBI director's finding. ["It was not merely a viral video. It is a concerted and active threat."]

The characterization, the panel said, was reached by the NBI director only after a thorough investigation — and was not shaken during cross-examination.

The prosecution panel laid out a three-step chronology at a House of Representatives press conference on July 22, 2026, arguing the grave-threats case rests on a pattern, not a single video.

"Months before, sinabi na niya, gusto niyang pugotain ang ulong presidente," a panel member said ["Months before, she already said she wanted to cut off the president's head"]. That was followed, the panel said, by the November 23 video admission that a contract to kill the president existed. Then, three days after that video, the statements were still not retracted.

"So para sa amin napakalinaw na ang ebidensya na inilatag namin sa kaso na ito," the member told House of Representatives ["So for us the evidence we have laid out in this case is very clear"].

The prosecution panel told a press conference at the House of Representatives on July 22, 2026 that it voluntarily dropped witnesses from its grave-threats case because the evidence already on record was sufficient — a disclosure that signals confidence rather than weakness, a panel member said.

"We don't even need — we could actually do with less witnesses, and in fact we did drop witnesses," a panel member said, speaking on House of Representatives. "I think it speaks of the confidence of the prosecution that the point has been made."

The panel added that the evidence and testimony presented under cross-examination were not shaken: "Hindi natibag yung mga testimonyal," one member said ["The testimonies were not dismantled"].

The prosecution panel, speaking at a House of Representatives press conference on July 22, said the evidence against Vice President Sara Duterte shows a pattern that long predates the viral November 23 video.

"Months before, sinabi na niya, gusto niyang pugutan ng ulong Presidente," a panellist said ["Months before, she had already said she wanted to cut off the President's head"]. That was followed, the panel said, by the video admission of an alleged contract to kill the president — and then, crucially, no retraction. "3 days after hindi nga bina-withdraw ang panangit na salitaan niya," the speaker added ["Three days after, she did not withdraw her threatening words"].

"Para sa amin napakalinaw na ng ebidensya na inilatag namin sa kasong ito," the panellist concluded ["For us, the evidence we have laid out in this case is already very clear"].

The prosecution panel told a House of Representatives press conference Wednesday that the defence's cross-examination of the NBI witness failed on its own terms, saying every challenge to her credibility and motives missed the point.

"Walang direktong connection dun sa naging paksa ng kanyang testimonia," one panellist said ["There was no direct connection to the subject matter of her testimony"] — referring to the NBI's investigation into alleged threats against the president's life.

The panel added that the defence's use of visual aids and a PowerPoint-style presentation represented only a cosmetic shift. "Yung mga visual aids, parang PowerPoint presentation medyo patuits thumbs lang talaga yung dating," the same speaker said ["The visual aids, the PowerPoint presentation — it just came across as a thumbs-up kind of thing, nothing more"], suggesting the presentation had style but not substance.

A reporter asked the prosecution panel directly at the House of Representatives press briefing whether the testimony and evidence filed under Article IV — the grave threats article — is enough to convince senator-judges to convict Vice President Sara Duterte.

A panel member said the prosecution would not pre-empt the court's decision but added: "Malaki ang tiwala namin at kumpiyansa sa ebidensyang namin na inatag na pahuhul dito sa Grave Threats" ["We have great trust and confidence in the evidence we have laid out here on Grave Threats"].

He said the final day of testimony on Article IV is proceeding as expected.