Statement by Antonio T. Carpio (Ret.) on Rodrigo Duterte’s 23 September 2020 speech before the United Nations General Assembly, affirming the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral-award victory under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and calling for full implementation of the ruling to protect the country’s sovereign maritime rights in the West Philippine…
Justice Carpio explains why allowing China‑linked telecommunications infrastructure inside Philippine military camps creates security vulnerabilities, given China Telecom’s legal obligation to cooperate with state intelligence and the risk of backdoors in critical communications systems.
Justice Carpio joins forces with Del Rosario and Carpio-Morales to take on China over West Philippine Sea
Justice Carpio joins ICC protest against China’s West Philippine Sea aggression
Justice Carpio leads coalition in challenging China’s control over disputed waters at the ICC.
Justice Antonio Carpio weighs in on Philippines’ arbitral victory and China’s artificial island construction
Justice Carpio analyzes the 2020 diplomatic “dueling Notes Verbales” between the Philippines and Malaysia over extended continental shelf claims, showing why competing assertions—especially involving Sabah and South China Sea rights—fail to advance Philippine maritime interests and distract from common ASEAN positions.
Justice Carpio explains why raising the Philippine maritime case at the UN General Assembly matters: it provides an opportunity to rally global support for the 2016 South China Sea arbitral ruling, reinforce the rule of law, and strengthen diplomatic backing for the Philippines’ sovereign rights under UNCLOS.
Justice Carpio refutes China’s claim of a peaceful history by detailing historical invasions of neighboring states and modern seizures of maritime features, and explains how China’s nine‑dash line aims to control nearly the entire South China Sea—at the expense of international law and ASEAN rights.
Justice Carpio explains how the nine‑dash line originated with a 1947 Kuomintang map claiming islands and their territorial seas, how Communist China later adopted and expanded it into a sweeping historical claim, and why this expansion is inconsistent with UNCLOS and was invalidated by the 2016 Arbitral Award.
ASEAN neighbors show that standing up to China doesn’t require going to war
Justice Carpio explains why Scarborough Shoal has become a legal and strategic “red line” in the South China Sea dispute, rooted in Philippine historic rights, UNCLOS entitlements, and international opposition to China’s enhanced claims and potential militarization.
Philippine anti-terrorism law challenged by Carpio, UP professors
Justice Carpio explains why, under the Anti‑Terrorism Act, the CPP‑NPA’s armed rebellion does not by itself classify them as “terrorists,” because the law distinguishes terrorism from rebellion and requires intent to create widespread fear, meaning rebels cannot be automatically proscribed as a terrorist group.
Justice Carpio explains how warrantless arrest provisions in the Anti‑Terrorism Act must be applied in harmony with constitutional due process and existing arrest rules, emphasizing that probable cause and legal safeguards still constrain law enforcement actions.
Justice Carpio explains that cyberlibel under the Cybercrime Prevention Act prescribes after 12 years following final judgment, applying the general prescription rule for offenses punishable by prision mayor, and outlines how the prescriptive period is calculated.
Lacson Corrects Carpio’s Misunderstanding of Anti-Terror Bill
Justice Carpio explains why martial law is unnecessary and legally unwarranted for managing a public health crisis like COVID‑19, highlighting constitutional standards and existing statutory emergency powers that protect both public safety and civil liberties.
Justice Carpio: Filipinos must demand president defend West Philippine Sea rights
Justice Carpio warns against China’s interference in Philippine elections
Justice Carpio explains how the Anti‑Terrorism Law’s warrantless arrest and extended detention provisions undermine the Constitution’s safeguards against unreasonable seizures and demolition of judicial oversight, creating a “double whammy” on fundamental rights.
Justice Carpio explains why China Telecom’s participation in the Philippines’ third telco raises constitutional and national‑security concerns, given its state‑owned status, legal obligations to Chinese intelligence, and potential risks from hosting critical infrastructure inside military installations.
Justice Carpio discusses the lingering devastation at Marawi City’s Ground Zero, the legal barriers preventing displaced residents from returning, and why a presidential proclamation making the land alienable and disposable could restore land rights and community trust.
Justice Carpio explains why naming features in the South China Sea does not confer sovereignty or maritime rights, outlines how sovereign states can lawfully name features, and notes the historical precedence of Philippine names like those on the 1734 Velarde‑Bagay‑Suarez map.
Justice Carpio explains why the cease‑and‑desist order against ABS‑CBN denied it equal protection of the law compared with past franchise renewals, and why any extension of broadcast or telecom franchises must be in a general bill applicable to all similarly situated entities to avoid unfair discrimination.
Justice Carpio explains why Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) are illegal under both Philippine and Chinese law, how licensing and enforcement anomalies suggest “invisible hands” enabling their operations, and why this synchronized tolerance undermines legal norms in both countries.
Justice Carpio compares China’s expansive South China Sea claims to a maritime Lebensraum, explaining how Beijing’s attempt to control vast waters and resources violates UNCLOS and was rejected by the 2016 Arbitral Award, and calls for ASEAN cooperation to uphold lawful sovereign rights.
Justice Carpio Slams China’s ‘Bullying’ in West Philippine Sea
Justice Carpio explains that the Philippine National ID’s slow implementation was due to insufficient budget allocations for PhilSys—not legal opposition—and outlines how funding shortfalls in the General Appropriations Act hindered nationwide rollout despite the law and IRR already in place.
Justice Carpio criticizes how leaders in China, the U.S., and the Philippines shifted their COVID‑19 narratives to avoid accountability for early errors, arguing that diverting attention to competing stories undermines effective public health response.
Justice Carpio explains why freedom of expression is the Philippines’ greatest freedom—foundational to democracy, protected even in crises, and only subject to very limited, constitutionally required exceptions.
Justice Carpio explains why redefining “public utility” through ordinary law to exclude telecommunications and transportation would erode the Constitution’s foreign‑ownership limits, bypass the amendment process, and weaken Filipino control of key sectors.
Justice Antonio Carpio sounds alarm over China’s intentions in West Philippine Sea
Justice Carpio Warns China Could Seize West Philippine Sea