Tito Sotto ousted as Senate President, Alan Peter Cayetano takes over
Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III has lost the position of Senate President after 13 senators voted to declare all seats vacant, with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano taking over his role.
During the Senate plenary session on Monday, May 11, Cayetano stated that there were at least 13 senators who wished to have a leadership change. This includes Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who has been absent from Senate hearings since November 2025.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Joel Villanueva then moved to declare all positions of the Senate leadership vacant. A roll-call vote subsequently took place, with 13 senators voting in favor of the motion, effectively unseating Sotto.
These include Cayetano and his sister Pia, as well as dela Rosa, Chiz Escudero, Imee Marcos, Rodante Marcoleta, Joel Villanueva, Bong Go, Robin Padilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Mark and Camille Villar, and Loren Legarda.
JV Ejercito and Migz Zubiri, meanwhile, abstained from voting.
Cayetano was then nominated for the position. In a second vote, he managed to secure 13 votes against nine, making him the new Senate President.
In his speech, Cayetano underscored that his job is to "serve you, dear senators, to serve this nation, to serve God above all, and to do what is right."
"I am here to respect the President, the Office of the President, the Vice President, the Office of the Vice President, the House of Representatives, and each one of you. In every crisis, there are big winners, and there are big losers. Unfortunately, it is the poorest of the poor who are always the losers, so I urge all of you, let's unite and let's discuss," he added.
The change in leadership comes as Vice President Sara Duterte faces a possible impeachment trial. A minimum of 106 out of 318 House members must support the measure for impeachment to move forward.
Cayetano made it clear that the change of leadership is not connected to the possible impeachment proceedings.
"The impeachment will be much, much more than dismissing a complaint because of political affiliation, and it's also much, much more than convicting someone without evidence. Parehong hindi pwede 'yun, kailangan guided tayo by the truth, guided by evidence," he said.
Tito Sotto's reaction
In an interview with the media, Sotto said that he had already expected the Senate coup to unseat him.
"I have experienced this around six times, from 1992 to the present, 'yung palit-palitan namin. So, as I said, we serve at the pleasure of our peers, so there must be a plan or something. Maybe God has a different plan," he said.
"Once you are Senate President, you must always expect it. You must have your back ready all the time," he added.
For him, there was a "very strong possibility" that he was ousted due to Duterte's pending impeachment.
"Because if I were Senate President, once the House approves the articles of impeachment and sends it to us, I will constitute and convene the impeachment court tomorrow," Sotto said.
Despite what happened, he assured that he bears no ill will to the senators who voted for the change in leadership, as they had their own agendas.
Sotto also stressed that they will "still continue with the work" and insist that Duterte's impeachment articles be taken up once they are submitted to them.
