Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denounced China in a veiled rebuke Monday in his state of the nation speech, vowing that his government will defend a
2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims in the
disputed South China Sea, and saying that Filipinos “do not yield” to conquerors.
On domestic issues, Marcos disclosed that a special anti-graft prosecutor would soon file charges against former House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, who has been implicated in a
corruption scandal that the president exposed in his state of the nation speech last year.
