NEW FROM MCT · CONTINUING RECORDThe Sara Duterte Impeachment TrialFollow the hearing day by day, read the documents in plain language and see what each side says, what remains disputed and what the courts have actually decided.I’m still working through parts of the record. Published material is based on documents already reviewed, and anything awaiting confirmation is clearly marked.Open the tracker →

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FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

7:47 AM3-minute read

ABOUT WHAT BANK SECRECY PROTECTS IN AN IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

The arguments over bank records in Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial involve several protections. The privacy of a peso deposit, the protection of a foreign-currency deposit, and the confidentiality of a report sent to the AMLC come from different rules. Understanding those differences helps explain what the court has allowed and what remains in dispute.

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8:43 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE AMLC RECORDS IN SARA DUTERTE’S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

₱4.4 billion is a figure that can dominate a conversation before anyone asks what it counts. AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura presented that approximate total in the Senate impeachment court on October 5, covering reported transactions involving Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio. He also explained that a bank correction had reduced the earlier figure of ₱6.7 billion.

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6:44 PM5-minute read

ABOUT THE COINS.PH CASH-IN RESTRICTION AND WHAT USERS SHOULD CHECK

If you use Coins.ph to receive money or pay bills, a failed cash-in can disrupt plans for the day. Coins.ph has announced that some incoming peso services are temporarily unavailable following a BSP directive to improve its internal controls. Its advisory also identifies services that existing customers can still use.

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12:00 PM5-minute read

ABOUT THE PROPOSED RULES ON SECONDHAND PHONES

A secondhand phone can put a useful device within reach of someone who cannot afford a new one. The problem comes when the buyer has no clear information about where it came from, what condition it is in, or who will fix it if it fails.

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8:35 PM6-minute read

ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ON THE IMPEACHMENT VOTE THRESHOLD

The Supreme Court dismissed three petitions on September 30 challenging how the Senate impeachment court would count the votes needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte. The dismissal leaves the Senate’s September 23 ruling in place, but it needs to be read carefully. A case can be dismissed because it does not meet the requirements for the Court to hear it, without settling whether the challenged action is constitutional.

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6:12 AM6-minute read

ABOUT WHAT BASTE DUTERTE SHOULD HAVE CHECKED AS MAYOR

Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte told the Senate impeachment court on September 29 that he had been unfamiliar with GenCorp Industries Inc. before it came up in the proceedings. He also said he did not know about Vice President Sara Duterte’s declared business interest in the company.

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10:45 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE OCTOBER WATER-RATE INCREASES

Metro Manila households served by Maynilad and Manila Water will see slightly higher water charges beginning October 1. The announced increases are small for many residential customers, but the figures vary by concessionaire and consumption level. That makes it easy to misunderstand a notice expressed only in centavos per cubic meter.

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7:21 AM6-minute read

ABOUT THE NOTE HANDED TO GIBO TEODORO IN SEOUL

Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. was answering questions at the Seoul Defense Dialogue on September 8 when a man handed him a note. He read it aloud, challenged its rejection of the 2016 South China Sea ruling and objected to being interrupted that way.

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9:55 AM8-minute read

ABOUT EL NIÑO AND PREPARING FOR LESS RAIN

It can be raining outside while PAGASA warns about El Niño. That can sound confusing when the immediate problem is a wet road or a flooded field. The two warnings describe different periods: the weather happening now and the rainfall conditions that may develop over the coming months.

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5:30 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST ZALDY CO, MARTIN ROMUALDEZ AND TWO OTHERS

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of Zaldy Co, Martin Romualdez and two other accused in the plunder case filed on September 7. By Monday evening, authorities had served Romualdez's warrant and carried out booking procedures at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan. His arrest is a confirmed development; it does not establish that his three co-accused are also in custody.

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3:15 PM8-minute read

ABOUT THE PLUNDER CASE AGAINST MARTIN ROMUALDEZ

The Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Sandiganbayan on September 7 over his alleged involvement in flood-control kickbacks. The accusations have now reached the court that will handle the criminal case. Romualdez denies wrongdoing and remains presumed innocent.

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1:18 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW SWS POVERTY NUMBERS

Self-rated poverty and food poverty declined in June, but the figures also show how many Filipino families remain under pressure and why lower household budgets do not necessarily mean life became cheaper.

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2:02 PM11-minute read

ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY ACT

House Bill No. 9965 would bar children below 13 from having social media accounts, require parental consent for users aged 13 to 17, regulate platform algorithms, and impose fines reaching P50 million. It is still being deliberated in the House.

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12:02 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE SEALED BIR BOX

Marcos authorized the BIR to comply with the Senate subpoena. That did not open the records to the public or prove the unexplained-wealth allegation.

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MCT READER PULSE · MCT-PULSE-2026-010

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If the Philippine presidential election were held today, who would you vote for as President and Vice President?

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MCT DAILY BRIEF

Chinese J-16 in AFP footage of the October 3, 2026 encounter over Bajo de Masinloc. Credit: Armed Forces of the Philippines.

An unsafe encounter over Bajo de Masinloc, heavier Chinese ship activity and a national-security assessment of reported foreign financial flows are drawing attention tonight. Alongside them are two different forms of security work: disaster-response cooperation with Japan and the unfinished Bangsamoro peace commitments. The dates matter. These are developments in the current news cycle; the aircraft encounter itself happened on October 3.

1

The AFP releases footage of the October 3 air encounter

The Armed Forces of the Philippines released footage of a Chinese J-16 fighter flying close to an unarmed Philippine Air Force C-208 patrol aircraft over Bajo de Masinloc. The AFP said the fighter crossed ahead of the aircraft and exposed it to wake turbulence, reducing safe separation and reaction time. The Philippine crew completed its mission and returned to base safely.

WHAT TO WATCH

The danger described by the AFP concerns the way the interception was conducted. A faster fighter crossing a small aircraft’s path can leave disturbed airflow behind it. The footage was released this week and reported again today, but depicts the October 3 encounter.

2

September monitoring counted 101 different Chinese vessels

In its October 6 briefing, the AFP reported monitoring 101 Chinese navy and coast guard vessels around four West Philippine Sea features during September, compared with 56 in August. The breakdown was 39 near Bajo de Masinloc, 28 around Pag-asa, 23 at Ayungin and 11 at Escoda.

WHAT TO WATCH

This is a monthly monitoring count of different ships, not a statement that 101 vessels gathered in one place at the same time. It shows a larger monitored presence across the month. The AFP said it would continue maritime operations, surveillance and coordination to protect Philippine maritime interests.

3

The NSC will assess the reported foreign financial flows

National Security Adviser Eduardo SL Oban Jr., in an October 6 statement, said the National Security Council would examine information about reported inflows from China into a Philippine company associated with the vice president’s family. The council said it would coordinate with government institutions and task intelligence and investigative agencies to assess any national-security implications.

WHAT TO WATCH

The wording leaves that assessment open. It does not establish that the Chinese government sent the money, that the funds financed a campaign, or that an espionage offense occurred. Those conclusions would require evidence beyond the reported transactions. The new development is the NSC’s decision to assess the information while the legal proceedings continue.

4

Philippine and Japanese air forces practise disaster-response operations

The Philippines and Japan are conducting Doshin-Bayanihan 6-26 from October 4 to 9. Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force announced training involving transport aircraft, cargo handling, airdrops, night operations and medical evacuation. A low-cost, low-altitude airdrop exercise took place in Tacloban on October 6, according to reporting from the site.

WHAT TO WATCH

These activities concern getting supplies and people through a disaster response. The Japanese notice also identifies the exercise as the first planned use of the bilateral Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement. That logistics arrangement should not be confused with the separate Reciprocal Access Agreement or described as a new combat deployment.

5

The Bangsamoro peace process still has commitments to complete

Administration officials announced a renewed push on October 7 to advance MILF decommissioning and the broader normalization program. This follows the government and MILF implementing panels’ September 25 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, where they agreed to continue their partnership and develop an updated implementation roadmap.

WHAT TO WATCH

Reported figures put completed decommissioning at 26,145 of the target 40,000 combatants and 4,625 of 7,200 weapons. Normalization also includes livelihoods, community security, action against private armed groups and transitional justice. An announced push is not the same as completing those commitments. The useful measure is what gets delivered to the communities and former combatants covered by the agreement.

BOTTOM LINE

National security requires safe operations, careful assessment of evidence and delivery on peace commitments. The date and status of each development matter as much as the headline.

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