Can and/or will she stop Chinese bullying at the WPS? 🤔

She has a superiority complex. But reality proves otherwise. 😁

Old and new -- former foreign affairs secretary Enrique Manalo and freshly sworn-in Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro attend the 127th anniversary of the DFA.

LOOK: Sec Maria Theresa Lazaro officially takes over the DFA.

New DFA Secretary, but same actions and results? Boring. 😠

@here Good morning! The Philippine Marines has a new chief https://www.rappler.com/philippines/vicente-blanco-marine-corps-commandant/

LOOK: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the phone.

Marcos says in a social media post: "We discussed how our two nations can further strengthen and deepen cooperation in trade, defence and maintaining peace in our region. I also conveyed our gratitude for Canada’s swift assistance to the Filipino community in Vancouver following the tragic incident at the Lapu-Lapu Day Festival. We look forward to building on this partnership for the benefit of our peoples."

We’re getting some goodies from neighbor Japan. The PH Navy confirmed it is sending a team there to test the used destroyers that Japan says can help PH deter Chinese aggression @here https://www.rappler.com/philippines/japan-export-used-destroyers-deter-china-media-report/

Will they deter China? Really? Or those ships will not matter as long as the leadership consistently exhibits cowardice. 😢

I guess it's just the message that's more important - Japan's message to China behind the export

LOOK: PAF’s FA50 and US Pacific Air Forces' F-35 aircraft conduct joint patrol exercise over the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial waters as part of the Cope Thunder 25-2 on July 07, 2025. 📷: PAF

Kaya naman laging galit at China eh. So yan na ang sagot sa tanong mo @Bea Cupin - RAPPLER https://www.rappler.com/philippines/view-manila-food-delivery-west-sea-documentary-china-afraid/

Direk Babyruth Villarama is back from Auckland after Food Delivery won an award at the Doc Edge festival. She earlier told Rappler: "We’re planning community screenings, hopefully more festival runs, educational engagements, and we hope to find champions who can help bring the film to platforms where it can spark wider conversations about territorial integrity, food security, and freedom of information. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that the sacrifices of our fishermen and defenders of the West Philippine Sea are not erased but honored, remembered, and acted upon."

Manila is host to the Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium 2025. Top military officials from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste, the United Kingdom are represented here.

From @Bea Cupin - RAPPLER: PALS 2025 is co-hosted with the US Marine Forces Pacific. MGen Vince Blanco, commandant of the Philippine Marines, notes symposium not just standard meeting but "strategic necessity."

From Bea: LtGen James Glynn, commander of the United States Marine Corps Forces, notes "true dialogue" key in PALS, with goal of solving "modern challenges" in the region.

"No one in the world can match the alliances and cohesion" in room, Glynn adds.

It is a very nice formation. What would happen during an actual combat? 🤔

News update – Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro tells PALS audience and later confirms to Philippine media that the first round of negotiations with France for a SOVFA with the Philippines concluded a couple of weeks ago. It can be recalled that Paris' envoy to Manila had earlier submitted a proposal. If negotiations conclude, France would be the newest country with whom the Philippines has a military training/visit agreement with. Manila has long had the VFA with the US, and a SOVFA with Australia. It recently signed an RAA with Japan, SOVFA with New Zealand and is expected to soon sign a SOVFA with Canada.

JUST IN: Five Filipinos were rescued from the sunken Eternity C vessel recently attacked by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea. The Department of Migrant Workers is still ascertaining the status of the 16 other Filipino crew, still being searched for in an ongoing rescue mission. International media earlier confirmed three to four deaths, but their nationalities are still unknown.

21 of the 22 crew members of Eternity C were Filipino, while one was Russian.

LOOK: United States President Donald Trump's letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regarding the 20% tariff rate set for Philippine exports.

Trump said Washington and Manila must move away from what he describes as "long-term" and "very persistent" trade deficits caused by the Philippines' trade policies. The 20% duty will take effect on August 1. Photos from Trump's TruthSocial page | via @Tatiana Maligro - Rappler