President of the Senate of the Philippines

President of the Senate of the Philippines
Pangulo ng Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas
since May 20, 2024
Senate of the Philippines
Style
Member ofSenate of the Philippines
National Security Council
Commission on Appointments
SeatGSIS Building, Pasay
AppointerSenate
Term lengthAt the Senate's pleasure; elected at the beginning of the new Congress by a majority of the senators-elect, and upon a vacancy during a Congress.
Inaugural holderManuel L. Quezon
FormationOctober 16, 1916; 108 years ago (1916-10-16)
SuccessionSecond

President of the Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: Pangulo ng Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas or Pangulo ng Senado ng Pilipinas), commonly referred to as Senate President, is the title of the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines, and third highest and most powerful official in the government of the Philippines. They are elected by the entire body to be their leader. The Senate president is second in the line of succession to the presidency, behind only the vice president and ahead of the speaker of the House of Representatives.[1]

The 25th and current Senate president is Francis Escudero of the Nationalist People's Coalition.[2]

Election

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The Senate president is elected by the majority of the members of the Senate from among themselves.[3] Since there are 24 senators, 13 votes are needed to win the Senate presidency, including any vacant seats or senators not attending the session. Although Senate presidents are elected at the start of each Congress, there had been numerous instances of Senate coups in which a sitting Senate president is unseated in the middle of session. Term-sharing agreements among senators who are both eyeing the position of the Senate president also played a role in changing the leadership of the Senate, but in a smooth manner, through the peaceful transition of power. Three known instances were in 1999, 2006, and 2018.[4][5]

Unlike most Senate presidents that are the symbolic presiding officers of the upper house, the Senate president of the Philippines wields considerate power by influencing the legislative agenda and has the ability to vote not just in order to break ties, although the Senate president is traditionally the last senator to vote. A tied vote, therefore, means that the motion is lost, and that the Senate president cannot cast a tie-breaking vote since that would mean that the presiding officer would have had voted twice.

History

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20th century

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Manuel L. Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Senate, was the longest serving in history, with a total of 19 years in office.

The position was established upon the inauguration of the Senate of the Philippines in 1916, replacing the Philippine Commission as the upper house of the Philippine Legislature. The first Senate president, Manuel L. Quezon, was elected on October 16, 1916[6], serving until 1935 when he was sworn in as the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

The next officeholder was Manuel Roxas, who served from after the bicameral Congress was restored in 1945 until his election as president the following year. Control of the Senate shifted between Nacionalistas and Liberals from then until 1972, resulting in various presiding officers from both parties in a single Congress. A case in point was that of the 2nd Congress when the Senate had a total of five presidents in a span of four years.[7] Eulogio Rodriguez was the second-longest to serve as Senate president, only behind Quezon, for more than 10 years.[8] Ferdinand Marcos was the only pre-martial law Senate president who switched parties in the middle of his tenure, when he left the Liberal Party after failing to gain its nomination as their presidential candidate for the 1965 elections and ran under the Nacionalista ticket.[9]

Gil Puyat served as the last president of the Senate before it was abolished by the ratification of the 1973 Constitution,[10] providing for a unicameral legislature, which would be later convened as the Batasang Pambansa.

In 1987, the bicameral Congress was restored under the presidency of Corazon Aquino, a year after Marcos was ousted by the People Power Revolution. Jovito Salonga, who previously served as senator from 1965 to 1972, was the first president elected by the reestablished Senate in the 8th Congress.[11] He was ousted upon the election of Neptali Gonzales as Senate president, after a rump session was held by only 13 senators, enough to constitute a quorum, while senators supporting Salonga boycotted the session.[12]

Gonzales stepped down on January 18, 1993, after fellow senators from Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and two senators from other rival parties voted Edgardo Angara into the Senate presidency. Angara was reelected when the 10th Congress first convened, only to be replaced by Gonzales in August 1995. Gonzales resigned the presidency of the chamber for a second time on October 10, 1996. Ernesto Maceda of the Nationalist People's Coalition was installed in his place and served until January 1998. Neptali Gonzales then assumed the Senate presidency for a final, third time, serving until the end of his senatorial term on June 30 of the same year.

Marcelo Fernan was elected over Francisco Tatad on July 27, 1998, and served until his resignation on June 28, 1999 due to failing health; he passed away two weeks later.[13] President pro tempore Blas Ople acted as presiding officer until he was formally elected Senate president on July 26, 1999.

21st century

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Franklin Drilon was the second, and to date, last Senate president to serve three non-consecutive terms, after Neptali Gonzales.

Ople resigned the Senate presidency on July 12, 2000,[14] honoring a term-sharing deal with Franklin Drilon,[4] who succeeded him, with the former assuming the post of president pro tempore. Drilon was then replaced by Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on November 14, 2000, after 13 senators voted Drilon out following his decision to break away from the Lapian ng Masang Pilipino, the ruling coalition led by president Joseph Estrada, whom he called on to resign, to join the opposition supporting then–vice president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in light of Estrada being impeached by the House of Representatives.[15] Pimentel himself resigned at the height of the controversial trial of Estrada when 11 out of the 21 senators present voted not to open the second envelope containing crucial evidence that could prove acts of corruption committed by the president.[16]

The Senate had its first president from the Nacionalista Party since 1972, with Manny Villar assuming the position on July 24, 2006 after agreeing to a term-sharing arrangement with Drilon two years earlier.[17] Juan Ponce Enrile was unanimously elected to replace Villar on November 17, 2008,[18] serving until his resignation in 2013 following criticisms of mishandling Senate funds, particularly the disparity in the distribution of his so-called "cash gifts," with 18 senators receiving ₱1.6 million each and six receiving only ₱250,000 each.[19] President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada was officially designated as acting president on June 5, 2013, the fourth to assume the position after Sergio Osmeña, who filled in for Manuel Quezon during his illness in 1930, Jose Clarin, who served from 1932 to 1933 during Quezon's brief leave and trip to the United States, and Blas Ople in 1999 after Marcelo Fernan's resignation as Senate president.

Franklin Drilon served a third term as chief of the Senate during the 16th Congress.[20] Koko Pimentel, a member of the ruling party PDP–Laban, was elected in 2016[21] and remained Senate president until May 21, 2018, when he resigned in favor of, and nominated, Tito Sotto as his successor.[5] Sotto, who was term-limited, was reelected in 2019 and led the Senate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic until 2022.[22]

Juan Miguel Zubiri was elected on July 25, 2022, at the start of the 19th Congress.[23] He resigned following criticisms from supporters of president Bongbong Marcos and former president Rodrigo Duterte over hearings conducted by the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.[24]

On May 20, 2024, Francis Escudero was elected Senate president, with 15 senators voting in favor, following a resolution signed by 13 senators circulating to oust Zubiri.[2][25] Escudero defended his seat in the 20th Congress against Tito Sotto, winning with 19 votes to remain president of the Senate.[26]

Powers and duties

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According to the Rule 3 of the Rules of the Senate, the Senate president has the powers and duties to:

  • To preside over the sessions of the Senate on the days and at the hours designated by it; to call the Senate to order and, if there is a quorum, to order the reading of the Journal of the preceding session and, after the Senate shall have acted upon it, to dispose of the matters appearing in the Order of Business in accordance with the Rules;
  • To decide all points of order;
  • To sign all measures, memorials, joint and concurrent resolutions; issue warrants, orders of arrest, subpoena and subpoena duces tecum;
  • To see to it that all resolutions of the Senate are complied with;
  • To have general control over the session hall, the antechambers, corridors and offices of the Senate;
  • To maintain order in the session hall, the antechambers, corridors and in the offices of the Senate, and whenever there is disorder, to take appropriate measures to quell it;
  • To designate an acting sergeant-at-arms, if the sergeant-at-arms resigns, is replaced or becomes incapacitated;
  • To appoint the subordinate personnel of the Senate in conformity with the provisions of the General Appropriations Act;
  • To dismiss any employee for cause, which dismissal in the case of permanent and classified employees shall be in conformity with the Civil Service Law; and
  • To diminish or increase the number of authorized personnel by consolidating or separating positions or items whenever the General Appropriations Act so authorizes and the total amount of salaries or allocations does not exceed the amount earmarked therein.

The Senate president is also the ex officio chairman of the Commission on Appointments, a constitutional body within the Congress that has the sole power to confirm all appointments made by the president of the Philippines. Under Section 2 of Chapter 2 of the Rules of the Commission on Appointments, the powers and duties of the Senate president as its ex-officio chairman are as follows:

  • to issue calls for the meetings of the commission;
  • to preside at the meetings of the commission;
  • to preserve order and decorum during the session and, for that purpose, to take such steps as may be convenient or as the commission may direct;
  • to pass upon all questions of order, but from his decision, any member may appeal to the commission; and,
  • to execute such decisions, orders, and resolutions as may have been approved by the commission.

And if other impeachable officers other than the president such as the ombudsman is on an impeachment trial, the Senate president is the presiding officer and shall be the last to vote on the judgment on such cases according to the Senate Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Trials the Senate adopted on March 23, 2011.

In the Senate, he supervises the committees and attended its hearings and meetings if necessary and such committee reports are being submitted to his/her office.

List of Senate presidents

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All senators from 1941 onwards were elected at-large, with the whole Philippines as one constituency.

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term of office Party/Coalition Legislature
Took office Left office
1
Quezon.jpg
Manuel L. Quezon[a]
Senator for the 5th District
(1878–1944)
[30][31]: 453 
October 16,
1916
November 15,
1935
Nacionalista
(until 1922)
4th Legislature
5th Legislature
Nacionalista Colectivista
(1922–1925)
6th Legislature
Nacionalista
(1925–1934)
7th Legislature
8th Legislature
9th Legislature
Nacionalista Democratico
(from 1934)
10th Legislature
Senate abolished
(1935–1945)
2 Manuel Roxas
(1892–1948)
[32]
June 9,
1945
May 28,
1946
Nacionalista
(until 1946)
1st Commonwealth Congress
Liberal
(from 1946)
3 José Avelino
(1890–1986)
May 28,
1946
February 21,
1949
Liberal 2nd Commonwealth Congress
1st Congress
4 Mariano Jesús Cuenco
(1888–1964)
February 21,
1949
December 30,
1951
Liberal
2nd Congress
5 Quintín Paredes
(1884–1973)
March 5,
1952
April 17,
1952
Liberal
6 Camilo Osías
(1889–1976)
April 17,
1952
April 30,
1952
Nacionalista
7 Eulogio Rodriguez
(1883–1964)
April 30,
1952
April 17,
1953
Nacionalista
(6) Camilo Osías
(1889–1976)
April 17,
1953
May 20,
1953
Nacionalista
8 Jose Zulueta
(1889–1972)
May 20,
1953
November 30,
1953
Liberal
(7) Eulogio Rodriguez
(1883–1964)
November 30,
1953
April 5,
1963
Nacionalista
3rd Congress
4th Congress
5th Congress
9 Ferdinand Marcos
(1917–1989)
April 5,
1963
December 30,
1965
Liberal
(until 1964)
Nacionalista
(from 1964)
10 Arturo Tolentino
(1910–2004)
January 17,
1966
January 26,
1967
Nacionalista 6th Congress
11 Gil Puyat
(1907–1980)
January 26,
1967
January 17,
1973
Nacionalista
7th Congress
Senate abolished
(1973–1987)
12
The_Honorable_Jovito_Salonga_(Senator_of_the_Philippines).jpg
Jovito Salonga
(1920–2016)
July 27,
1987
January 18,
1992
Liberal 8th Congress
13 Neptali Gonzales
(1923–2001)
January 18,
1992
January 18,
1993
LDP
9th Congress
14 Edgardo Angara
(1934–2018)
January 18,
1993
August 28,
1995
LDP
10th Congress
(13) Neptali Gonzales
(1923–2001)
August 29,
1995
October 10,
1996
LDP
15 Ernesto Maceda
(1935–2016)
October 10,
1996
January 26,
1998
NPC
(13) Neptali Gonzales
(1923–2001)
January 26,
1998
June 30,
1998
LDP
16 Marcelo Fernan
(1927–1999)
July 27,
1998
June 28,
1999
LDP 11th Congress
17 Blas Ople
(1927–2003)
July 26,
1999[b]
July 12,
2000
LAMP
18 Franklin Drilon
(born 1945)
July 12,
2000
November 13,
2000
Independent
19 Nene Pimentel
(1933–2019)
November 13,
2000
June 30,
2001
PDP–Laban
(18) Franklin Drilon
(born 1945)
July 23,
2001
July 24,
2006
Independent
(until 2003)
12th Congress
Liberal
(from 2003)
13th Congress
20 Manny Villar
(born 1949)
July 24,
2006
November 17,
2008
Nacionalista
14th Congress
21 Juan Ponce Enrile
(born 1924)
November 17,
2008
June 5,
2013
PMP
15th Congress
Jinggoy Estrada
(born 1963)
Acting
June 5,
2013
July 22,
2013
PMP
(18) Franklin Drilon
(born 1945)
July 22,
2013
June 30,
2016
Liberal 16th Congress
22 Koko Pimentel
(born 1964)
July 25,
2016
May 21,
2018
PDP–Laban 17th Congress
23 Tito Sotto
(born 1948)
May 21,
2018
June 30,
2022
NPC
18th Congress
24 Migz Zubiri
(born 1969)
July 25,
2022
May 20,
2024
Independent 19th Congress
25 Francis Escudero
(born 1969)
May 20,
2024
Incumbent NPC
20th Congress
References:[33]

Senate presidents by time in office

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Rank Name Time in office TE Year(s) in which elected
1 Manuel L. Quezon 19 years, 30 days 7 1916; 1919; 1922; 1925; 1928; 1931; 1934
2 Eulogio Rodriguez 10 years, 113 days 5 1952; 1953; 1954; 1958; 1962
3 Franklin Drilon 8 years, 104 days 4 2000; 2001; 2004; 2013
4 Gil Puyat 5 years, 357 days 2 1967; 1970
5 Juan Ponce Enrile 4 years, 200 days 2 2008; 2010
6 Jovito Salonga 4 years, 175 days 1 1987
7 Tito Sotto 4 years, 40 days 2 2018; 2019
8 Mariano Jesús Cuenco 2 years, 312 days 2 1949 (2)
9 José Avelino 2 years, 269 days 1 1946
10 Ferdinand Marcos 2 years, 269 days 1 1963
11 Edgardo Angara 2 years, 222 days 2 1993; 1995
12 Neptali Gonzales 2 years, 197 days 4 1992 (2); 1995; 1998
13 Manny Villar 2 years, 116 days 2 2006; 2007
14 Koko Pimentel 1 year, 300 days 1 2016
15 Migz Zubiri 1 year, 300 days 1 2022
16 Ernesto Maceda 1 year, 108 days 1 1996
17 Francis Escudero 1 year, 92 days 2 2024; 2025
18 Arturo Tolentino 1 year, 9 days 1 1966
19 Manuel Roxas 353 days 1 1945
20 Blas Ople 352 days 1 1999
21 Marcelo Fernan 336 days 1 1998
22 Nene Pimentel 229 days 1 2000
23 Jose Zulueta 194 days 1 1953
24 Camilo Osías 46 days 2 1952; 1953
25 Quintín Paredes 43 days 1 1952

Timeline

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Notes

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  1. ^ During Manuel L. Quezon's tenure as Senate President, the following senators served as Acting Senate President:
  2. ^ Served as Acting Senate President from June 28 to July 26, 1999.

Sources

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References

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  1. ^ Const. (1987), art. VII, § 7 (Phil.).
  2. ^ a b Villaruel, Jauhn Etienne (2024-05-20). "Escudero takes Senate helm after Zubiri resignation". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  3. ^ Rules of the Senate, Rule II, § 2
  4. ^ a b Clapano, Jose Rodel (2004-07-13). "Drilon, Villar agree to term-sharing for top Senate post". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  5. ^ a b Elemia, Camille (2018-05-21). "Tito Sotto elected as Senate president". Rappler. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  6. ^ Onorato, Michael P. (1966). "The Jones Act and the Establishment of a Filipino Government, 1916-1921". Philippine Studies. 14 (3): 453. ISSN 0031-7837. JSTOR 42720121.
  7. ^ "List of Previous Senators – Second Congress". Senate of the Philippines.
  8. ^ "Eulogio A. Rodriguez, Sr". Senate of the Philippines.
  9. ^ White III, Lynn T. (2014-12-17). Philippine Politics: Possibilities and Problems in a Localist Democracy. Taylor & Francis. p. 101. ISBN 9781317574224.
  10. ^ "History of the Senate - Congress of the Philippines (1946-1972)". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
  11. ^ Maragay, Feliciano V. (1987-07-28). "Salonga spells out Senate vision". Manila Standard. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  12. ^ Fel V., Maragay (1991-12-13). "Salonga hangs tough; Gonzales sworn in". Manila Standard. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  13. ^ "DID YOU KNOW: 20th death anniversary of Marcelo Fernan". INQUIRER.net. 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
  14. ^ "Blas F. Ople". Senate of the Philippines.
  15. ^ Javellana, Juliet L.; Marfil, Martin P. (2000-11-14). "Drilon, Villar out; Pimentel, Fuentebella in". Philippine Daily Inquirer. pp. 1, 14.
  16. ^ Javellana, Juliet L.; Marfil, Martin P. (2001-01-17). "Senate votes to reject ₱3-B bank evidence". Philippine Daily Inquirer. pp. 1, 16.
  17. ^ Mendez, Christina (2006-07-24). "Villar takes over Senate presidency". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  18. ^ Legaspi, Amita (2008-11-17). "Villar resigns as Senate prexy; Enrile takes over as new chief". GMA News Online. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  19. ^ Macaraig, Ayee (2013-06-05). "Enrile resigns Senate presidency". Rappler. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  20. ^ Santos, Matikas (2013-07-22). "Drilon is new Senate president". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  21. ^ "Pimentel elected new Senate President". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  22. ^ Rey, Aika (2019-07-22). "Status quo: Tito Sotto reelected as Senate president". Rappler. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  23. ^ Villaruel, Jauhn Etienne (2022-07-25). "'Consensus builder' Zubiri elected as Senate President". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  24. ^ de Santos, Jonathan; Cruz, RG (2024-05-20). "'I failed to follow instructions': Zubiri steps down as Senate president". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 2025-07-09. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  25. ^ Fonbuena, Carmela (2024-05-21). "LIST: 15 senators who voted to oust Zubiri as Senate President". PCIJ.org. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  26. ^ Ager, Maila (2025-07-28). "Escudero remains Senate president". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2025-08-10.
  27. ^ Senate, Philippines Congress (1987-) (1997). Senate of the Philippines. The Senate.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ Our Delegates to the Constitutional Assembly: English-Spanish (in Spanish). Benipayo Press. 1935.
  29. ^ Gripaldo, Rolando (2017). "Quezon and Osmeña on the Hare-Hawes Cutting and Tydings-McDuffie Act" (PDF). Quezon-Winslow Correspondence and Other Essays.
  30. ^ "Biography of Senate President Quezon". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  31. ^ Onorato, Michael P. (1966). "The Jones Act and the Establishment of a Filipino Government, 1916-1921". Philippine Studies. 14 (3): 448–459. ISSN 0031-7837.
  32. ^ "Biography of Senate President Roxas". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  33. ^ "Roll of Senate Presidents". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved 2025-08-18.