2026 President of the Senate of the Philippines election
58th leadership election in the Philippine Senate
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An election for the president and president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines was suddenly held on May 11, 2026. It was the third leadership election of the Senate in the 20th Congress and the 58th leadership election in the Senate's history.
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May 11, 2026
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All 24 members of the Senate 13 votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Bloc composition of the Senate of the Philippines after the election
Majority
Minority
Independent | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The election ousted incumbent Senate president Tito Sotto, who was replaced by Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
Background
On September 8, 2025, Senate Minority Leader Sotto replaced incumbent Francis Escudero, and senators Panfilo Lacson and Juan Miguel Zubiri were elected as president pro tempore and majority floor leader, respectively.[1] Escudero was ousted mainly due to links with flood control projects.[2] The senators of the minority bloc after that election were called the "Duterte bloc".[3] As early as February 2026, Sotto said that the majority had blocked an alleged attempt by the minority to oust him as the Senate President.[4] Sotto confirmed that senator Loren Legarda would be the next Senate president before the 20th Congress ends in 2028.[5] In May 2026, rumors were rising that the minority was seeking to replace Sotto as the House of Representatives was going to vote on the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte and send the case for trial.[6] On May 10, 2026, Sotto confirmed that there was a plan to remove him as president of the Senate.[7]
Electoral system
The Senate president is elected by the majority of the members of the Senate from among themselves.[8] 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.[9][10] 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.[11][12]
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.
Election
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Return of Ronald dela Rosa
On May 11, 2026, after months long of absence, senator Ronald dela Rosa, who suddenly showed up in the Senate, arrived at the plenary hall and was furious due to him being prevented by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents from entering the ongoing session.[13] This came after rumors that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had filed an arrest warrant due to dela Rosa's links to the Philippine drug war.[14] dela Rosa was also set to be subpoenaed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on the same day as part of an ongoing investigation.[15]
Leadership election
On May 11, 2026, Cayetano manifested that there were enough votes to support a leadership change which were thirteen "Duterte-aligned" senators led by Cayetano.[16][16] Immediately after, session was suspended. When it was later resumed, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva moved to declare all electable seats in the Senate to be vacant. The motion was approved after the voting with 13 senators in favor, 10 against, and one abstaining.[17] Senator Imee Marcos then nominated Cayetano as the new Senate president.[18] Villanueva who was designated as acting majority leader attempted to move to close the nomination but Lacson stood and nominated Sotto for Senate president, causing a two-way race.[17]
Results
| Party | Nominees | Nominated by | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Alan Peter Cayetano | Imee Marcos | 13 | 54.17 | |
| NPC | Tito Sotto (incumbent) | Panfilo Lacson | 9 | 37.50 | |
| Abstention | 2 | 8.33 | |||
| Total votes | 24 | 100.00 | |||
| No. | Senator | Party | Original bloc (after the September 2025 election) |
Voted who? | New bloc | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bam Aquino | KANP | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 2 | Alan Peter Cayetano | Independent | Minority | Sotto[a] | Majority | |
| 3 | Pia Cayetano | Nacionalista | Majority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 4 | Ronald dela Rosa | PDP | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 5 | JV Ejercito | NPC | Majority | Abstained | Independent | |
| 6 | Francis Escudero | NPC | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 7 | Jinggoy Estrada | PMP | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 8 | Win Gatchalian | NPC | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 9 | Bong Go | PDP | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 10 | Risa Hontiveros | Akbayan | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 11 | Panfilo Lacson | Independent | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 12 | Lito Lapid | NPC | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 13 | Loren Legarda | NPC | Majority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 14 | Rodante Marcoleta | Independent | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 15 | Imee Marcos | Nacionalista | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 16 | Robin Padilla | PDP | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 17 | Kiko Pangilinan | Liberal | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 18 | Tito Sotto | NPC | Majority | Cayetano[a] | Minority | |
| 19 | Erwin Tulfo | Lakas | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 20 | Raffy Tulfo | Independent | Majority | Sotto | Minority | |
| 21 | Joel Villanueva | Independent | Minority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 22 | Camille Villar | Nacionalista | Majority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 23 | Mark Villar | Nacionalista | Majority | Cayetano | Majority | |
| 24 | Juan Miguel Zubiri | Independent | Majority | Abstained | Independent | |
Aftermath
After Cayetano's victory, Senator Legarda was then elected as Senate president pro tempore, a position she previously held in the 19th Congress.[20] Dela Rosa was then placed under Senate protection against NBI agents trying to serve his warrant of arrest allegedly issued by the ICC,[21] which were later confirmed to be true.[22] CCTV footage of dela Rosa running away from NBI agents was then revealed, resulting in dela Rosa spending the night at the Senate office.[23] Senators Sotto, Hontiveros, Aquino, Pangilinan, and Lacson signed a resolution on May 12, 2025, urging dela Rosa to surrender to authorities.[24] Alan Peter Cayetano then said that the senate will only accept arrest warrants from Philippine courts.[25] On May 13, 2026, the CIDG withdrew its subpoena on dela Rosa.[26]
Notes
- It is common tradition for senators who are nominees for the Senate presidency to vote for their opponent.