Sotto elected new Senate president

SENATE minority leader Vicente Sotto III was elected as Senate president yesterday after senators ousted Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero as the chamber’s leader amid allegations linking him to a contractor tagged in anomalous flood control projects.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri stood up during yesterday afternoon’s session and motioned to declare Escudero’s position vacant and nominated Sotto as his replacement.
The motion was seconded by Sen. Loren Legarda.

Sotto, Zubiri and Legarda, along with Senators Panfilo Lacson and Risa Hontiveros, belong to the minority bloc in the Senate.

Upon hearing the motion, Escudero, who was presiding over the session, said: “Is there any objection? Hearing none, the motion is hereby approved.”

He added: “There being no other nominees for the position, Senator Vicente Sotto, the only nominee for the position of Senate president, is hereby declared as the newly elected president of the Senate.”
Lacson was later elected as Pro Tempore, the second highest Senate official, replacing Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

Zubiri was named majority leader, vice Sen. Joel Villanueva who later announced that he will join the minority bloc.

In a Viber message to reporters covering the Senate last night, Sotto said Lacson will be the new chairperson of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

He said Sen. Rodante Marcoleta is “not a member of the majority,” thus, he cannot continue to lead the committee.

“The Blue Ribbon (Committee) is reserved for the majority,” he said.

In a chance interview before the change in leadership, Sotto said it was Zubiri and Hontiveros who routed the resolution seeking the support of senators to declare the Senate presidency vacant.
He said that he was informed that at least 15 senators signed the resolution, which is more than the 13 signatures needed to oust Escudero.

The names of the senators who signed the resolution were not immediately made available.
Sotto said Escudero was aware that the resolution was being circulated among senators.

“Okay naman (It’s okay with him), he congratulated me,” Sotto said, adding that Senate leaders serve at the pleasure of their colleagues.

When asked what triggered the change in leadership, Sotto refused to reply, saying it was better to ask the proponents of the resolution.

The resolution’s authors, however, have yet to disclose the reason for their move.
Escudero’s ouster happened following his admission that he received P30 million in campaign donation from a contractor who has been tagged in ongoing investigations on anomalous flood control projects.
It came weeks after the Senate archived the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Escudero was elected Senate leader in May 2024 during the 19th Congress. He was reelected when the 20th Congress convened last July 28.

He succeeded Zubiri, who served as Senate president from July 2022 to May 2024.
Sotto was Senate president from May 2018 until his term ended in June 2022.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would respect and support the senators’ decision.

Castro said the President had already said in the past that he would not interfere with the affairs of the Senate, including any changes in its leadership.

“The election of leaders is their choice. So whoever is chosen by the senators as their leader or Senate president, the President will support,” she said in Filipino. – With Jocelyn Reyes