Abbey M.

The points obtained by tandems that Filipinos want to become the presidential and vice-presidential team in the upcoming 2028 national elections are nearly tied.

Based on the results of the latest Tugon ng Masa survey by OCTA Research, former Vice President and now Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo and Senator Raffy Tulfo lead the preferred hypothetical presidential and vice presidential tandem for the next elections, obtaining 45% of the votes.

They are followed by the possible tandem of Vice President Sara Duterte and Senator Imee Marcos, who obtained 42%.

According to OCTA, the results can be considered a statistical dead heat due to the 3% margin of error, meaning it is a very close contest.

In the same survey, results showed that in NCR, 56% preferred the Leni-Raffy tandem.

Meanwhile, 22% preferred the possible Sara-Imee tandem.

In Balance Luzon, 61% favored Leni-Raffy, while 23% favored Duterte-Marcos.

In the Visayas, both preferred tandems obtained an equal 45%.

However, in Mindanao, the Sara-Imee tandem has a big lead with 90%, while the Leni-Raffy tandem has 5%.

Meanwhile, results also showed that 8% said they would not vote for either tandem, 4% were undecided, and 1% refused to answer.

The survey was conducted from July 4 to 11, 2026, with 1,200 adult respondents.

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s satisfaction rating has recovered, based on the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Although it remains below average, according to SWS, Marcos has recovered from his record-low satisfaction rating.

Based on the results of the latest SWS survey, 42% of adult Filipinos said they are satisfied with the performance of the Marcos administration.

Meanwhile, 40% are dissatisfied, and 17% could not say whether they are satisfied or not.

Overall, the president got a net satisfaction rating of positive one, classified as neutral.

This is higher compared to the previous data, which reached only negative 13, or classified as poor - the record low of the Marcos administration's rating.

Based on the survey results, the Marcos administration's rating turned out very good on the issue of basic education for the youth, improving the quality of education for the youth, helping the poor, and formulating policies on job creation.

Meanwhile, the president's performance was poor on the issue of inflation and the fight against corruption.

The survey was conducted from June 20 to July 9, with 1,200 respondents interviewed from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

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Vice President Sara Duterte's lead defense counsel, Atty. Sheila Sison, called out a social media post by private prosecutor Atty. Amando Ligutan, saying it touched on the merits of the ongoing impeachment trial.

The post in question was related to the earlier exchange between defense counsel Kristine Ferrer and private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan, where Ferrer argued that misleading questions are allowed during cross-examination.

"This was posted at 11:29 AM by one of the private prosecutors, Atty. Amando Ligutan, posting that, 'A principle all lawyers and law students know by heart: Misleading questions are not allowed even on cross-examination,'" Sison said.

Sison argued that the impeachment court is also a court of decorum, and that Rule 18 of the Senate Impeachment Rules prohibits participants, especially lawyers, from commenting on the merits of the case. "As far as I am concerned, Impeachment Court is also a court of decorum and the rules of impeachment under Rule 18 actually prohibits participants, especially lawyers, from commenting about the merits of the case," she said.

Rule 18 states that the presiding officer, senator-judges, prosecutors, and counsels are barred from making public comments or disclosures pertaining to the merits of a pending impeachment trial.

The issue comes as Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol earlier said that Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero is preparing a ruling on violations of the impeachment rules, particularly on posting or commenting about the case. Tongol said penalties for such violations could range from reprimand and fines to detention through a finding of direct or indirect contempt.

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Senate impeachment court spokesperson Atty. Regie Tongol said Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero is drafting a ruling addressing violations of the impeachment rules, following recent incidents involving counsels and parties in the ongoing trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Tongol explained that under the rules, counsels, parties, private counsels, and senator-judges are barred from posting or commenting on the merits of the case, especially if such statements could damage the integrity and credibility of the impeachment proceedings.

He added that the impeachment court should not become a venue for trial by publicity or for lawyers to disparage one another.

On the possible penalties for violating the rules, Tongol said the most severe is detention, which may be imposed through a finding of direct or indirect contempt. Other sanctions include reprimand, admonishment, fines, and revocation of a counsel's right to appear before the court. He added that the impeachment court may also refer disciplinary sanctions to the Supreme Court.

Asked whether side comments made during proceedings could be considered a violation, Tongol said this is among the things that are, as much as possible, not allowed in court. "Very formal kami sa korte. Dapat you accord respect to a fellow lawyer," he said. (We are very formal in court. You should accord respect to a fellow lawyer.)

On the pace of the trial, Tongol said the court can still manage to hear one witness per day, though it is possible that two witnesses could be presented by Monday.

He also addressed the defense's right to cross-examine witnesses, explaining that this is granted to the respondent because of the presumption of innocence. 

According to Tongol, it is up to the prosecution to prove its case, while it is up to the defense to disprove it.

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The Philippine government may borrow as much as P1.7 trillion in 2027 to fund several government projects for the coming year.

Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said more than P10 billion is allocated for confidential and intelligence funds in the proposed 2027 budget, lower than the amount set aside this year.

The proposed budget reflected in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2027 stands at P7.2 trillion. However, not all of this amount is expected to be actually disbursed within the year.

According to DBM Acting Secretary Kim Robert de Leon, based on their calculations, actual government disbursement for 2027 is projected at around P6.9 trillion, while the government's total expected revenue is only around P5.2 trillion.

This results in a P1.7 trillion budget deficit, which the government plans to address through borrowing.

De Leon said the country's borrowing mix will remain a combination of domestic and foreign sources, though a larger share is expected to come from domestic borrowing. As of June 2026, the Philippines' total outstanding debt has already reached more than P19 trillion.

Meanwhile, the proposed confidential and intelligence funds under the 2027 budget stand at more than P10.77 billion. Of this, the DBM said P4.368 billion is allocated for confidential funds, while P6.405 billion is for intelligence funds.

This is 8.8 percent lower compared to the P11.818 billion in confidential and intelligence funds approved under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Deliberations on the proposed national budget are expected to begin on August 17 at the House of Representatives, and on August 27 at the Senate. Both chambers of Congress will start their budget deliberations through hearings with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

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