Math of the Absurd: Why Remulla’s 10,000 Deaths Warning Became the Ultimate Political Joke

October 25, 2026

In modern political theater, a sound bite is meant to be a masterclass in persuasion. Sometimes, though, it turns into pure comedy. When spin doctors aim for gravitas, they occasionally deliver a punchline instead—proving that the public remembers the absurdity rather than the intended propaganda. Take the recent performance by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla. On October 20, he claimed authorities were delicately negotiating with a group in Mindanao for the turnover of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. His justification for skipping a standard arrest? Pushing the issue could trigger an apocalyptic showdown resulting in—wait for it—up to 10,000 deaths, according to GMA News. Ten thousand! One wonders if he was planning an arrest or predicting a full-scale alien invasion. Unsurprisingly, the internet did not burst

Illustration of a legal balance scale and a wooden gavel representing due process, fairness, and justice in an impeachment trial.

The Right to a Complete Defense: Why Due Process Matters in Impeachment Trials

October 14, 2026

After nearly 40 days of presenting evidence, the prosecution withdrew Articles I, III, and IV of the impeachment complaint. However, the defense is still expected to remain silent on those withdrawn allegations. Here is an analysis of why restricting the defense’s response undermines fundamental fairness. On October 13, 2026, the House prosecution panel, through Lead Prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro, manifested that it would no longer pursue Article I (confidential funds), Article III (bribery), and Article IV (grave threats/assassination plot). Instead, it chose to proceed solely with Article II, which concerns unexplained wealth, Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) issues, and prohibited business interests.   The Senate impeachment court, under Presiding Officer Sen. Francis Escudero, accepted the withdrawal. Articles I and IV were withdrawn with

AI-generated illustration of a hazy orange sunset over a Philippine city skyline and a receding reservoir with exposed dry banks during a Super El Niño dry spell.

Super El Niño in the Philippines: How Scared Should We Be?

October 5, 2026

We’ve been hearing about El Niño for as long as most of us can remember. It usually means hotter days, less rain and reminders to save water. Then the rains return, the dams refill and life goes on. This time feels different. The media now call it a Super El Niño, and the forecasts behind that name are hard to ignore. So the question at the back of my mind is simple: how scared should we actually be? And what can ordinary Filipinos do about it? What PAGASA Says About the Super El Niño PAGASA says a strong El Niño is already present in the Pacific. It expects the event to intensify into a “very strong” state between October and December 2026 and to persist

Sara Duterte impeachment voting threshold lowered from 16 to 14 votes.

Moving the Goalposts: How the Supreme Court Left Due Process Hanging in VP Sara’s Impeachment

October 1, 2026

Every fair contest rests on one simple rule: you don’t move the goalposts once the game has started. In the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the goalposts moved on September 23. A week later, on September 30, the Supreme Court had the chance to say whether that was allowed, and it chose not to answer. From 16 to 14: What Actually Changed When the trial opened in July, the math was settled. On July 6, Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero ruled that conviction required 16 votes, two-thirds of the full 24-member Senate. On September 23, Day 29 of the trial, the senator-judges overturned that ruling in a 13-1 vote, with six not participating. They redefined “all the Members of the Senate” to mean only

Infographic of political communication lessons: authentic messaging, social media as engine, volunteer content, and data with judgment

Political Communication Lessons From the 2016 Duterte Presidential Campaign

September 24, 2026

Key Takeaways: This post is about strategy, not politics — what the 2016 campaign taught me about communication at scale Authenticity at scale is possible, but it requires the discipline not to smooth out your candidate or brand Social media wasn’t an add-on, it was the engine — you can’t manufacture organic movement, only create conditions for it The volunteers were the campaign’s greatest assets; my job was to set the framework and get out of the way Data matters, but so does judgment — the best strategists are rigorous without being rigid. In 2016, I was a member of the Communications Group of Rodrigo Duterte’s presidential campaign, in charge of social media and the execution of the campaign’s TV and radio advertising. What

Two Facebook posts from the 2016 #MyDuterteStory campaign: a testimonial titled "Mayor Duterte — Hard on Crime" with a wedding photo watermarked #MyDuterteStory, and a post titled "OFW's Faith in the Country, Restored" from a supporter in Edmonton, Canada, with a scrapbook-style photo collage of Duterte campaign materials.

MyDuterte Story Campaign Case Study: Scaling Authentic Personal Narratives

September 15, 2026

MyDuterte Story Campaign Case Study: Scaling Authentic Personal Narratives Key Takeaways One instruction to volunteers: “Tell your Duterte story.” No template, no brief, no format required The most credible voice in any campaign is always an ordinary person telling the truth Stories came in every format — essays, memes, photos, videos — in four Philippine languages We gave direction, identified what was gaining traction, and boosted the best The lesson: every brand has people who genuinely love it. Build systems to surface their stories It started with a simple instruction to our network of social media volunteers: Tell your Duterte story. This directive launched the MyDuterte story campaign case study, transforming a single idea into a movement. We provided no templates or visual guidelines.

Infographic of a social media strategy framework: content as king, distribution as queen, engagement building a kingdom community

Content Is King, Distribution Is Queen: My Social Media Strategy

September 10, 2026

Key Takeways: Content is King, Distribution is Queen, Engagement builds the Kingdom — the architecture of every campaign I’ve run Good content evokes emotion or prompts action; format matters far less than the message Filipino cultural shorthand — hugot, kilig, pride — is what makes content travel here Most campaigns fail at distribution: everything spent on production, nothing on reach The marching orders never change: engage your audience, distribute cost-efficiently, and tell the truth I know, I know — “content is king” sounds like something you’d see on a motivational poster. But bear with me. The way I think about it isn’t a slogan. It’s the actual architecture of a social media strategy. Here’s the framework I’ve used for years, and taught to every

A dark blue infographic titled "Who Tells the Story?" contrasting two eras: "Before — one-way, gatekept," showing a single media broadcast node transmitting down to rows of passive audience members, and "Now — networked, everyone a storyteller," showing an interconnected web of nodes with a storyteller at the center.

The Democratization of Media in the Philippines: How Social Media Changed Narrative Making

September 8, 2026

The Democratization of Media in the Philippines: How Social Media Changed Narrative Making Series: Inside the Campaign Eighth of Ten Parts Key Takeaways Before social media, narrative making was controlled by big media companies — we were just the audience Social media made every Filipino with a smartphone a potential storyteller We seeded the MyDuterte story idea and let it multiply into thousands of authentic narratives The old model was message control. The new model is narrative cultivation The lesson: build something worth talking about, then give people a platform to talk about it Let me take you back to how the media landscape in the Philippines functioned before 2016. It was a time of strict control and high barriers to entry. Before the

Infographic of the ABS-CBN ad boycott crisis: listening, rebuilding trust, and a revenue turnaround from ₱266M to ₱1B a month

Crisis Management Lessons From the ABS-CBN Advertiser Boycott

September 3, 2026

Key Takeaways: I was appointed Head of Sales and Marketing at ABS-CBN in February 1997–straight into an advertiser and ad agency boycott Lesson 1: understand what the aggrieved side actually needs before you defend or counter Lesson 2: trust is rebuilt through behavior, not statements — make moves that speak for themselves Lesson 3: a team that’s behind needs a clear goal, not a pep talk — we set the target and hoit it The turnaround grew into quadrupled revenues: from P266M to over P1B per month, without missing a target February 1997. I had just been appointed Head of Sales and Marketing at ABS-CBN. It was a role I didn’t ask for, by the way. Freddie Garcia called me into his office and

Two pomelos at a fruit stand with Duterte-Cayetano campaign stickers placed on their Golden Fruits labels.

How to Run a National Campaign with Almost No Budget — and Win

September 1, 2026

Series: Inside the Campaign Seventh of Ten Parts Key Takeaways Our first TV buy was ₱8M — used to test four regional cities, not flood national airwaves The leading spender spent ₱500M+ on advocacy ads. Our official spend was ₱371M — and our real media value was multiples of that Every peso constraint forced a more creative, more targeted decision The pomelo sticker, the apron, the bicycle man — zero-budget content that traveled further than a billboard The lesson: money buys reach. Belief builds movements. Scarcity is an editor, not just an obstacle Let me tell you about our first TV buy. ₱8 million. That was our initial television budget for what would become the most consequential presidential campaign in recent Philippine history. With ₱8

Journal