[Rappler’s Best] Lob the ball

Our very own Alex Eala hogged headlines in the tennis world after her spectacular dethroning of defending champion Iga Swiatek at the Centre Court of the All England Club, paving the way for a chance to play in the Grand Slam quarterfinal.

It’s my hope that Alex’s grit and grace have succeeded in burying the Philippines’ global humiliation a couple of months ago — when one of its senators, wanted by an international court for crimes against humanity, holed out in the Senate, sought refuge from his fellow senators, and, in his balding and bulging self, ran to the stairs to escape arrest. “Video shows Philippine senator outrunning agents in dramatic chase,” blurted The New York Times in its May 12 headline, referring to the now fugitive Senator Bato dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa proved to be an inspiration to one of his allies, Senator Rodante Marcoleta, who last week tried to pressure the Ombudsman not to file a plunder case against him. Boy, did he try to outperform Dela Rosa! 

Marcoleta banked on the religious group he belongs to, the Iglesia Ni Cristo, to mobilize its flock for a massive protest rally that lasted three days and choked traffic last week — all in an effort to stop the Ombudsman from dropping the hammer on him. He failed.

• Marcoleta was slapped with a non-bailable plunder case on Friday, July 3. He surrendered to the Sandiganbayan today.
• What exactly are the charges against him? Read more.
• To zero in on the issue: Marcoleta was the only winning senator in the 2025 elections who reported zero campaign donations but later admitted getting a contribution of P75 million. He declared spending P111.29 million during the campaign. James Patrick Cruz tells us more in this story. 

In any case, Monday is when the once chubby-cheeked Alex will shoot for another first for a Filipino at Wimbledon: a game against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, which, in the event of a victory, will pave the way for her first quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. She had beaten Paolini before. A confident Alex says she is far from satisfied and will aim for the moon.

But since we are a country saddled with severe contradictions, Monday is also when a polarizing Sara Duterte will be tried by the Senate impeachment court on charges she misused government funds and could not explain her wealth, among others.

• Dwight de Leon sets the scene for us in this piece. 
• Where do senator-judges lean in the trial? We tracked their voting behavior and political affiliations and came up with this. 
• Here’s your A-Z guide to the impeachment trial, which will be held from Monday to Wednesday starting at 2 pm. Catch our special coverage here, which brings updates, analysis, and commentary from a panel of reporters and experts. (After July, the trial days will be from Tuesday to Thursday every week.)
• Do you want to watch the proceedings from the Senate session hall? Here’s how.
• Duterte has been ordered to appear on Monday. But it’s unlikely that she will heed the order.

All this political heat in the last few weeks has overshadowed the fact that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. crossed the rubicon on June 30, which kicks off the last two years of his term.

If there’s one bright spot in his presidency, it would be his diplomatic initiatives that have resulted in the most number of institutional arrangements with foreign countries in recent history. 

• The latest proof of this is Marcos’ official visit to Canada last week, where he and Prime Minister Mark Carney formalized the elevation of ties between both countries. Bea Cupin covered that visit; watch her recap here.
• Supporters of the Duterte family and anti-Marcos Filipinos living in Canada also managed a show of their own during the visit, including heckling the President’s spokesperson. 
• As I wrote in this piece to mark his four years in office, Marcos knows what’s going to hit him in 2028. “He’s seen the Duterte train wreck, he knows it’s headed his way, and he still has the time and the wherewithal to, at the very least, derail it. But can he?”
• At least he got some good news: the World Bank’s classification of the Philippines as having reached upper-middle income status.
• Read more of our Marcos Year 4 stories here.

Here are some of Rappler’s bests that you shouldn’t miss:

JC Punongbayan explains what the Philippines now officially being an upper-middle income country means.

Jairo Bolledo looks into the possible strategy of the defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial. Meet her defense team here.

Joey Salgado challenges the liberal opposition — the “pinks” and the “yellows” — to stop their online brawl and “agree on a process now, pick the candidate, close ranks, then go to the voters.”

Senate tags ‘764’ online extremist network in Tacloban shooting probe

Banks, e-wallets have until July 4 to lower transfer fees – Bangko Sentral

Preserving the dying art of Burdang Taal, one thread at a time

Can DILG keep a retiring Calabarzon top cop for 1 more year?

Rappler, JNBF award 2026 Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship to 7 campus journalists

– Rappler.com

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The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Rappler.