FEBRUARY 17, 2026 — Former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio just dropped a legal bombshell. Senator Rodante Marcoleta wants him charged with treason — but Carpio says, hold up, the law doesn’t even allow that unless the Philippines is at war.

“Every first year law student knows that treason cannot be committed during peacetime,” Carpio pointed out. 

What shade! After all, the Revised Penal Code’s Article 114 is crystal clear. Treason is a wartime crime. So unless bombs are falling, the charge doesn’t stick.

But Carpio didn’t stop there. He laid out the Herculean task Marcoleta would face: amend the Penal Code, repeal constitutional safeguards against retroactive laws, convince the President and Senate to pull the country out of UNCLOS, and then argue that the very officials who passed and upheld Republic Act 9522 — the law defining our archipelagic baselines — are guilty of treason themselves. 

Imagine accusing the Supreme Court, the Senate, and the President all at once.

Carpio reminded everyone of the Magallona vs. Ermita case, which he himself penned. If the Philippines had claimed waters beyond the 12-nautical mile territorial sea, it would have mirrored China’s infamous nine-dash line — an outright violation of UNCLOS. And had the Court gone that route, our arbitration case against China would have been dead on arrival. 

“He who comes to court must come with clean hands,” Carpio said, underscoring how international law works.

And, mind you, this is not just lawyers’ spat. This is about how we define our territory, how we stand against China’s sweeping claims, and how our laws protect us from political theatrics. Should treason be thrown around so casually, when the stakes involve our sovereignty and credibility before the world?

Carpio’s words cut deep: if we bend the law to fit political grudges, we risk undermining the very foundation of our fight for the West Philippine Sea.

So Carpio just compared Marcoleta’s idea to China’s nine-dash line — too harsh or spot on? And whose side are you on — Carpio’s legal schooling or Marcoleta’s treason grandstanding?

(Image: Philippine News Agency)