MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will deliver his annual state of the nation speech Monday with a bleak backdrop of a major corruption scandal that he exposed last year but has implicated his key allies; his estranged vice president’s impeachment trial; and the global economic fallout from a resurgent war in Iran.
More than 23,000 police were deployed to secure the House of Representatives in suburban Quezon city, where Marcos will deliver his penultimate annual address before his six-year term ends in mid-2028. Key roads to the presidential palace in Manila were barricaded with barbed wire and riot police to deter protesters.
Security concerns were heightened after a small homemade bomb exploded before dawn on Monday near the gate of the Department of Justice in Manila, causing no injuries or major damage. Separately, bomb parts were found near the Senate in suburban Pasay city which had not been assembled and apparently aimed “only to sow terror or fear,” national police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez jr. told reporters.
Marcos is expected to outline in his speech new programs to mitigate the impact of the renewed hostilities in the Middle East. He declared a yearlong national energy emergency in March as the war in the Middle East raged to ensure the adequate supply of fuel, food and agricultural products and prevent hoarding.
In last year's state-of-the-nation speech, Marcos railed against widespread corruption in flood-control projects as the Philippines struggled to recover from deadly flooding and landslides that killed dozens of villagers and displaced more than 200,000.
Separate government and congressional investigations that followed implicated dozens of House and Senate members along with government public works engineers and officials, who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects. Their lavish lifestyles, including fleets of private jets and European cars, sparked public outrage and protests.
A current and a former member of the 24-member Senate have been indicted and detained for largescale corruption in connection with the anomalies. A leading suspect and former House member fled to Europe. Former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who served under Marcos, has denied any wrongdoing but has also been indicted in connection with the anomalies and is in hospital detention.
Many, however, have clamored for more influential legislators to be rapidly prosecuted. Critics have asked why one of the leading suspects, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez — the president’s cousin and key ally who denies any wrongdoing — had not been charged. Marcos has pledged that even his allies will be locked up in jail if there is evidence.
“We have done enough because we’re not done yet,” Marcos said. “Unfortunately, the more we look, the more we find.”
The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, his former ally, for charges that includes corruption and threatening the president, is also underway.
Protesters carry an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a protest march in Quezon City, Philippines Monday, July 27, 2026, ahead of the State of the Nation Address by President Marcos Jr. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
Police personnel line up and secure a road near a protest march in Quezon City, Philippines Monday, July 27, 2026, ahead of the State of the Nation Address by President Marcos Jr. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
A protester destroys an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump during a protest march in Quezon City, Philippines Monday, July 27, 2026, ahead of the State of the Nation Address by President Marcos Jr. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon)
SEATTLE (AP) — Police arrested one suspect and were looking for another after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival beneath Seattle's Space Needle, leaving three people dead and four others injured, including a toddler.
Investigators believe the two suspects were shooting at each other and, although one remained on the loose, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Police did not have a description of the outstanding suspect, he said.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. The four wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, were hospitalized and in stable condition, said Grace Nuñez, spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department. The rest of the injured were adults. Davis couldn't say if any of the victims were involved in the confrontation.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some saw one of the suspects firing, Davis said. One suspect surrendered at the scene, but the other fled. Law enforcement searched the grounds to no avail.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out. She realized a shooter was near them. She and others found shelter in the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running,” Hunter said. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”
In the chaos, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours afterward, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and were told by police to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and he turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to make photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The annual festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees over “three days of food, drink, and community celebration,” according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, center, speaks at a news conference after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A police officer stands at a closed off area after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A police officer responds after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
