Context Dispatch

House prosecutors and private lawyers handling the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte attended a "Mass for Truth, Justice and Accountability" at the Cubao Cathedral on Thursday, days before the Senate convenes as an impeachment court on July 6. Lead prosecutor and House Justice Committee Chair Gerville Luistro said the prosecution is fully prepared for trial. Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said the prosecution has lined up 57 witnesses, compared with more than 20 for the defense. Following the impeachment court's pre-trial order, prosecutors will first present the article involving Duterte's alleged threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. The VP is the only official to be impeached twice; her trial last year was stopped by the Supreme Court.

Thousands of members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC), clad in white shirts bearing the words "Accountability" and "Transparency," gathered Monday at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila and the EDSA People Power Monument, causing heavy traffic as they protested the plunder case filed against Senator Rodante Marcoleta and his reported impending arrest. In a statement, the religious group said it was not opposing the enforcement of the law but objecting to what it described as its selective application to conceal corruption. The INC claimed the case was intended to silence Marcoleta's anti-corruption campaign, declaring that "selective justice is injustice."

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the filing of forty-four (44) criminal tax cases against former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials Jaypee De Leon Mendoza, Henry C. Alcantara, and Brice Ericson D. Hernandez.

A new Senate majority consolidated power on Wednesday, electing Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President and ending Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s turbulent tenure at the helm of the chamber. The leadership shakeup was sealed after Senator Joel Villanueva crossed over to the emerging bloc, providing the crucial 13th vote needed to formally install Gatchalian. In a broader realignment of Senate leadership, former Senate President Vicente Sotto III was elected Senate President Pro Tempore, while Juan Miguel Zubiri took over as majority leader and chairman of the Committee on Rules, which controls the chamber’s legislative agenda. The new majority also allocated committee chairmanships, leaving the Blue Ribbon Committee now investigating the flood control controversy with Senator Erwin Tulfo.

Following the powerful earthquake that struck Southern Mindanao on 8 June 2026, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has stepped in with critical technological assistance, sharing detailed satellite data to aid response and recovery efforts.