Less than two months into the first regular session of the 20th Congress, the Senate has already undergone a major leadership shake-up.
Senator Chiz Escudero was unseated as Senate President and replaced by Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who reclaimed the post after securing 15 votes—enough to topple Escudero.
📷: Senate of the Philippines
According to reliable sources, those who sided with Sotto include:
- Senator Bam Aquino
- Senator Pia Cayetano
- Senator Panfilo Lacson
- Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri
- Senator Loren Legarda
- Senator Risa Hontiveros
- Senator JV Ejercito
- Senator Lito Lapid
- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian
- Senator Kiko Pangilinan
- Senator Raffy Tulfo
- Senator Erwin Tulfo
- Senator Camille Villar
- Senator Mark Villar
By the morning of September 8 (Monday), Sotto confirmed in an ambush interview that the final vote count to oust Escudero had been secured that very day.
He refused to go into details about the backroom negotiations but admitted that the push for a leadership change had been in motion for weeks, largely driven by senators from the minority bloc.
“Hindi naman kasi ako ang nagsimula eh diba? Yung apat dun sa Mythical 5 eh, sila nagsimula eh so di ko alam kung sino kinausap nila,” Sotto revealed, referring to Senators Lacson, Zubiri, Legarda, and Hontiveros.
Once the numbers were secured, Sotto personally approached Escudero to discuss how the transition would unfold.
“I approached talked to him (Escudero) and una nyang tinanong is ‘How do you want to do this?’ Sabi ko it’s up to you how would you prefer to do it, sabi nya let’s do it by affirmation and declare the position of Senate President vacant,” Sotto recalled.
In his acceptance speech, Sotto vowed cooperation but asserted that the Senate would maintain its independence.
“Our people are enraged of corruption, corruption that is now seen, heard and felt by the Filipinos more than ever. The failed flood control projects that supposed to protect the lives, livelihood and properties of our countrymen, the dilapidated classrooms for our students and the lack of quality farm-to-market roads to aid our farmers, all are engulfed in corruption, hindering the progress of the nation as a whole,” he declared.
This marks Sotto’s return as Senate President, a role he previously held from 2018 until his Senate term ended in 2022.