On the afternoon of June 3, 2026, twelve senators reorganized the entire Philippine Senate without the other twelve. They invoked a 1949 Supreme Court case to justify it. This is Part 1 of a two-part series analyzing the crisis from multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, crossdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary perspectives spanning constitutional law, political science, public choice economics, sociology, philosophy, and Reformed theology. This post covers the full story, the players, the legal argument, and what the flood control corruption have to do with it all. The complete scholarly paper is available for download at the end of this post. If the law can be bent by twelve senators for obvious reasons that has something to do with their self interest, what guarantee do ordinary Filipinos have that it will not be bent again tomorrow?
Pragmatism, Peace and the Presidency: Why VP Sara Duterete should resign
With GDP growth at a five-year low, OFW remittances threatened by the US-Iran conflict, and the Senate lurching through its second leadership change in months, the Philippines cannot afford its current political paralysis. The Philippines is bleeding economically while its leaders wage political war. In the article, I present the best pragmatic, strategic, and moral argument that Vice President Sara Duterte voluntarily resign. It is not an act of surrender, it is the shrewdest political move available to her. The 2028 path clears. And a nation desperate for statesmanship finally gets it. FULL paper can be downloaded at the end of the post.
The Sotto Gambit Meets Reality: What Yesterday’s Senate Leadership Change Means for the Theory
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.