Five days ago, the Sotto Gambit launched: a political theory months in the making, published as a seven-part blog series with a full accompanying policy paper. Plan A proposed a constitutional reset anchored on Sara Duterte’s Senate conviction and Vicente Sotto III’s appointment as Vice President. Yesterday, Sotto was ousted as Senate President by a 13-9 vote, Alan Peter Cayetano took his place, and the Senate math made Sara’s acquittal virtually certain. This addendum does not hide from those developments. It accounts for them directly, honestly, and without spin. Here is what changed, what did not, and where the theory goes from here.
The Sotto Gambit, Part 2: Why 2028 is already too late
The standard political response to the Duterte threat is to field a better candidate and win in 2028. The Sotto Gambit challenges that instinct directly. The Duterte political machine is optimized for exactly one environment: a traditional Philippine presidential campaign built on name recall, regional machinery, and emotional narrative. That is the game they have won before and are preparing to win again. The Sotto Gambit does not try to beat them at that game. It proposes to change the rules before they can set up. This is Part 2 of a 7-part series. The FULL PAPER may, however, already be downloaded at the end of each posts.
The Sotto Gambit, Part 1: A Theory for Saving the Republic
The Philippines faces surging inflation, an economy stagnating below its own targets, and leaders consumed by political warfare instead of governance. Yet the 2028 election under existing rules will produce one of three outcomes: a Marcos-endorsed successor inheriting the same corruption networks, a Duterte running a vengeance presidency, or a well-intentioned opposition leader trapped inside the same broken institutional cage. None of these changes the system. The SOTTO GAMBIT argues that the Philippines can do something different, legally and constitutionally, before 2028 closes the window. Learn more about it. This is Part 1 of a 7-part series. The FULL PAPER may, however, already be downloaded from the first post and from every post thereafter.
Manuscripts, Misinformation, and the Myth of the “1,800-Year Bible”
I scrolled past a confident-sounding Facebook post the other day. It claimed Christians read the Byzantine text for 1,800 years, until Westcott and Hort arrived and “fixed” it. It sounded neat and convincing. The villains were clear. The history, the logic, and the evidence do not survive even a few minutes of scrutiny, and that matters. If you care about the truth, it is worth examining the evidence for yourself. Read more.
Myths, Muscles and Mactan: The Lapu-Lapu We Keep Inventing
Did Lapu-Lapu really have six-pack abs? On the eve of Kadaugan sa Mactan, a Facebook casting call asked Filipinos exactly that. The primary sources tell a very different story — and why getting it wrong matters more than you’d think.
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