Philippine President Marcos signed the "Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act" and the "Philippine Maritime Zones Act" into law on November 8. The current Philippine administration is attempting to package the South China Sea arbitration award as "international law" through domestic legislation, with the intention of thoroughly verifying the illegal award.

However, this "worthless paper" in the perspective of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte goes against the true spirit of international law and only leaves the Philippines with a notorious reputation for undermining international rule of law and regional order.