List of presidents of the Senate of the Philippines

Manuel L. Quezon was the first and longest-serving president of the Senate.

Quintín Paredes is the shortest-serving president of the Senate.

Jovito Salonga was the first post-martial law president of the Senate.

Tito Sotto is the current president of the Senate.

The president of the Senate of the Philippines is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines. The Senate president is second in the line of succession to the presidency, after the vice president and before the speaker of the House of Representatives.^[1]^[2]

The office was created in 1916, following the establishment of the Senate to replace the Philippine Commission as the upper house of the bicameral Philippine Legislature. The Senate president is the administrative head of the chamber and the ex officio chairperson of the Commission on Appointments.^[3]

The Senate elects a new president by roll call vote when it convenes during the first session of a new Congress, or when the incumbent Senate president dies, resigns, or is removed from office through a leadership coup. A majority of votes cast is required to elect a Senate president.^[4] If there is only one nominee for the position, the candidate is elected by acclamation.

Altogether, 25 individuals have served as president of the Senate. The incumbent Senate president is Tito Sotto, who assumed office on September 8, 2025.^[5]

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

Every president of the Senate has been a member of a political party or faction; the number affiliated with each is:

Liberal – 8;^[a] Nacionalista – 8;^[b]^[c] LDP – 3; NPC – 3; LAMP – 2;^[d] PDP–Laban – 2; PMP – 1; Independent – 2.^[e]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party/Coalition		Legislature
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Party/Coalition		Legislature
1		Manuel L. Quezon Senator for the 5th District (1878–1944) ^[6]^[7]	October 16, 1916	November 15, 1935		Nacionalista (until 1922)	4th Legislature
						Nacionalista (until 1922)	5th Legislature
						Nacionalista Colectivista (1922–1925)	6th Legislature
						Nacionalista Consolidado (1925–1934)	7th Legislature
							8th Legislature
							9th Legislature
						Nacionalista Democratico (from 1934)	10th Legislature
Senate abolished (November 15, 1935 – June 9, 1945)
2		Manuel Roxas (1892–1948) ^[8]	June 9, 1945	May 28, 1946		Nacionalista (until 1946)	1st Commonwealth Congress
2		Manuel Roxas (1892–1948) ^[8]	June 9, 1945	May 28, 1946		Liberal (from 1946)	1st Commonwealth Congress
3		José Avelino (1890–1986) ^[9]	May 28, 1946	February 21, 1949		Liberal	2nd Commonwealth Congress
3		José Avelino (1890–1986) ^[9]	May 28, 1946	February 21, 1949			1st Congress
4		Mariano Jesús Cuenco (1888–1964) ^[10]	February 21, 1949	December 30, 1951			1st Congress
4		Mariano Jesús Cuenco (1888–1964) ^[10]	February 21, 1949	December 30, 1951			2nd Congress
5		Quintín Paredes (1884–1973) ^[11]	March 5, 1952	April 17, 1952
6		Camilo Osías (1889–1976) ^[11]	April 17, 1952	April 30, 1952		Nacionalista
7		Eulogio Rodriguez (1883–1964) ^[11]	April 30, 1952	April 17, 1953
8		Camilo Osías (1889–1976) ^[11]	April 17, 1953	May 20, 1953
9		Jose Zulueta (1889–1972) ^[11]	May 20, 1953	November 30, 1953		Liberal
10		Eulogio Rodriguez (1883–1964) ^[12]	November 30, 1953	April 5, 1963		Nacionalista
							3rd Congress
							4th Congress
							5th Congress
11		Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989) ^[13]	April 5, 1963	December 30, 1965		Liberal (until 1964)
11		Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989) ^[13]	April 5, 1963	December 30, 1965		Nacionalista (from 1964)
12		Arturo Tolentino (1910–2004) ^[14]	January 17, 1966	January 26, 1967		Nacionalista	6th Congress
13		Gil Puyat (1907–1980) ^[15]	January 26, 1967	January 17, 1973			6th Congress
13		Gil Puyat (1907–1980) ^[15]	January 26, 1967	January 17, 1973			7th Congress
Senate abolished^[f] (January 17, 1973 – February 2, 1987)
14		Jovito Salonga (1920–2016) ^[16]	July 27, 1987	January 18, 1992		Liberal	8th Congress
15		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001) ^[17]	January 18, 1992	January 18, 1993		LDP	8th Congress
15		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001) ^[17]	January 18, 1992	January 18, 1993			9th Congress
16		Edgardo Angara (1934–2018) ^[18]	January 18, 1993	August 28, 1995			9th Congress
16		Edgardo Angara (1934–2018) ^[18]	January 18, 1993	August 28, 1995			10th Congress
17		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001) ^[17]	August 29, 1995	October 10, 1996
18		Ernesto Maceda (1935–2016) ^[19]	October 10, 1996	January 26, 1998		NPC
19		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001) ^[17]	January 26, 1998	June 30, 1998		LDP
20		Marcelo Fernan (1927–1999) ^[20]	July 27, 1998	June 28, 1999		LDP	11th Congress
21		Blas Ople (1927–2003) ^[21]	July 26, 1999	April 13, 2000		LAMP
22		Franklin Drilon (born 1945) ^[22]	April 13, 2000	November 13, 2000		LAMP (until 2000)
22		Franklin Drilon (born 1945) ^[22]	April 13, 2000	November 13, 2000		Independent (from 2000)
23		Nene Pimentel (1933–2019) ^[23]	November 13, 2000	June 30, 2001		PDP–Laban
24		Franklin Drilon (born 1945) ^[24]	July 23, 2001	July 24, 2006		Independent (until 2003)	12th Congress
						Liberal (from 2003)	12th Congress
						Liberal (from 2003)	13th Congress
25		Manny Villar (born 1949) ^[25]	July 24, 2006	November 17, 2008		Nacionalista	13th Congress
25		Manny Villar (born 1949) ^[25]	July 24, 2006	November 17, 2008		Nacionalista	14th Congress
26		Juan Ponce Enrile (1924–2025) ^[26]	November 17, 2008	June 5, 2013		PMP	14th Congress
26		Juan Ponce Enrile (1924–2025) ^[26]	November 17, 2008	June 5, 2013		PMP	15th Congress
27		Franklin Drilon (born 1945) ^[27]	July 22, 2013	June 30, 2016		Liberal	16th Congress
28		Koko Pimentel (born 1964) ^[28]	July 25, 2016	May 21, 2018		PDP–Laban	17th Congress
29		Tito Sotto (born 1948) ^[29]	May 21, 2018	June 30, 2022		NPC	17th Congress
29		Tito Sotto (born 1948) ^[29]	May 21, 2018	June 30, 2022		NPC	18th Congress
30		Juan Miguel Zubiri (born 1969) ^[30]	July 25, 2022	May 20, 2024		Independent	19th Congress
31		Francis Escudero (born 1969) ^[31]	May 20, 2024	September 8, 2025		NPC	19th Congress
31		Francis Escudero (born 1969) ^[31]	May 20, 2024	September 8, 2025			20th Congress
32		Tito Sotto (born 1948) ^[32]	September 8, 2025	Incumbent			20th Congress

Senate presidents by time in office

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	7	1952; 1953; 1954; 1956; 1958; 1960; 1962
3	Franklin Drilon	8 years, 104 days	4	2000; 2001; 2004; 2013
4	Gil Puyat	5 years, 241 days	4	1967; 1968; 1970; 1972
5	Tito Sotto	4 years, 252 days	3	2018; 2019; 2025
6	Juan Ponce Enrile	4 years, 200 days	2	2008; 2010
7	Jovito Salonga	4 years, 175 days	1	1987
8	Mariano Jesús Cuenco	2 years, 312 days	3	1949 (2); 1952
9 (tie)	José Avelino	2 years, 269 days	2	1946; 1948
9 (tie)	Ferdinand Marcos	2 years, 269 days	2	1963; 1964
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 (tie)	Koko Pimentel	1 year, 300 days	1	2016
14 (tie)	Migz Zubiri	1 year, 300 days	1	2022
16	Francis Escudero	1 year, 111 days	2	2024; 2025
17	Ernesto Maceda	1 year, 108 days	1	1996
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

v t e Senate of the Philippines
Current members (20th Congress)
Officers	Senate president (List) Senate president pro tempore Floor leaders (Majority leader, Minority leader) Secretary Sergeant-at-Arms
Senators	Female senators Per senatorial districts Longevity of service 4th Legislature 5th Legislature 6th Legislature 7th Legislature 8th Legislature 1st Commonwealth Congress 2nd Commonwealth Congress/1st Congress 2nd Congress 3rd Congress 4th Congress 5th Congress 6th Congress 7th Congress 8th Congress 9th Congress 10th Congress 11th Congress 12th Congress 13th Congress 14th Congress 15th Congress 16th Congress 17th Congress 18th Congress 19th Congress
Elections	1916 Senators 1919 Senators 1922 Senators 1925 Senators 1928 Senators 1931 Senators 1934 Senators 1941 Senators 1946 Senators 1947 Senators 1949 Senators 1951 Senators 1953 Senators 1955 Senators 1957 Senators 1959 Senators 1961 Senators 1963 Senators 1965 Senators 1967 Senators 1969 Senators 1971 Senators 1987 Senators 1992 Senators 1995 Senators 1998 Senators 2001 Senators 2004 Senators 2007 Senators 2010 Senators 2013 Senators 2016 Senators 2019 Senators 2022 Senators 2025 Senators Special
Standing committees	Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon) Accounts Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies Basic Education Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes Cooperatives Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs Culture and the Arts Economic Affairs Electoral Reforms and People's Participation Energy Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Ethics and Privileges Finance Foreign Relations Games and Amusement Government Corporations and Public Enterprises Health and Demography Higher, Technical and Vocational Education Justice and Human Rights Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development Local Government Migrant Workers National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation Public Information and Mass Media Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Public Services Public Works Rules Science and Technology Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development Sports Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking Tourism Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement Ways and Means Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality Youth
Other bodies	Commission on Appointments Senate Electoral Tribunal Judicial and Bar Council Second Congressional Commission on Education
Symbols	Seal Mace
See also	Philippine Commission GSIS Building New Senate Building

List of presidents of the Senate of the Philippines

Senate presidents by time in office

Timeline

Notes

See also

References

Related Articles

v t e Presidents of the Senate of the Philippines
▌ Quezon (1916–1935) ▌▌ Roxas (1945–1946) ▌ Avelino (1946–1949) ▌ Cuenco (1949–1951) ▌ Paredes (1952) ▌ Osías (1952) ▌ Rodriguez (1952–1953) ▌ Osías (1953) ▌ Zulueta (1953) ▌ Rodriguez (1953–1963) ▌▌ Marcos (1963–1965) ▌ Tolentino (1966–1967) ▌ Puyat (1967–1972) ▌ Salonga (1987–1992) ▌ Gonzales (1992–1993) ▌ Angara (1993–1995) ▌ Gonzales (1995–1996) ▌ Maceda (1996–1998) ▌ Gonzales (1998) ▌ Fernan (1998–1999) ▌ Ople (1999–2000) ▌▌ Drilon (2000) ▌ Pimentel Jr. (2000–2001) ▌▌ Drilon (2001–2006) ▌ Villar (2006–2008) ▌ Ponce Enrile (2008–2013) ▌ Drilon (2013–2016) ▌ Pimentel III (2016–2018) ▌ Sotto (2018–2022) ▌ Zubiri (2022–2024) ▌ Escudero (2024–2025) ▌ Sotto (2025–present)
▌ Nacionalista ▌ Liberal ▌ LDP ▌ NPC ▌ LAMMP (until 2000); PMP (from 2008) ▌ PDP–Laban ▌ Independent Category List