President of the Senate of the Philippines

President of the Senate of the Philippines
President of the Senate of the Philippines;
Pangulo ng Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas
	Seal of the Senate
	Flag of the Senate
	Incumbent; Francis Escudero; since May 20, 2024
Style	Mr. President; (informal; within the Senate); The Honorable; (formal); His Excellency; (formal, diplomatic)
Member of	Senate of the Philippines ; National Security Council ; Commission on Appointments
Reports to	Senate of the Philippines
Seat	GSIS Building, Pasay
Appointer	The Senate
Term length	At the Senate's pleasure
Inaugural holder	Manuel L. Quezon
Formation	October 16, 1916
Succession	Second
Website	Senate

The 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 the Senate president, is 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.

The current Senate president is Francis Escudero. He was elected on May 20, 2024.

Election

The Senate president is elected by the majority of the members of the Senate from among themselves; 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, the peaceful transition of power and this was done two times in 1999 and in 2006.

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.

Powers and duties

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

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		Legislature
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Party		Legislature
1		Manuel L. Quezon^[1] Member for the 5th Senatorial District (1878–1944)	November 1916^[2]	November 15, 1935		Nacionalista	4th Legislature
						Nacionalista	5th Legislature
						Nacionalista Colectivista	6th Legislature
						Nacionalista	7th Legislature
							8th Legislature
							9th Legislature
						Nacionalista Democratico	10th Legislature
–		José Clarín^[3]^: 260 (1879–1935) Acting^[a]	1932	1932		Nacionalista	9th Legislature
The Senate and the House of Representatives were merged into the unicameral National Assembly in 1935 at the onset of the Commonwealth period. The National Assembly was replaced by the bicameral Commonwealth Congress with the amendment of the 1935 Constitution in 1940, with the first election for the Senate elected nationwide at-large held in November 1941. However, the outbreak of World War II in the Philippines meant that the Commonwealth Congress did not convene until 1945.^[5] For the speakers of the National Assembly, see Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines.
2		Manuel Roxas^[6] (1892–1948)	July 9, 1945	May 28, 1946		Liberal	1st Commonwealth Congress
3		José Avelino (1890–1986)	May 28, 1946	February 21, 1949		Liberal	2nd Commonwealth Congress
3		José Avelino (1890–1986)	May 28, 1946	February 21, 1949		Liberal	1st Congress
4		Mariano Jesús Cuenco (1888–1964)	February 21, 1949	December 30, 1951		Liberal	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 A. Rodriguez Sr. (1883–1964)	April 30, 1952	April 17, 1953		Nacionalista
(6)		Camilo Osías (1889–1976)	April 17, 1953	May 20, 1953		Nacionalista
8		José Zulueta (1889–1972)	May 20, 1953	November 30, 1953		Liberal
(7)		Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr. (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 1965)
9		Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989)	April 5, 1963	December 30, 1965		Nacionalista (from 1965)
10		Arturo M. Tolentino (1910–2004)	January 17, 1966	January 26, 1967		Nacionalista	6th Congress
11		Gil Puyat (1907–1980)	January 26, 1967	September 23, 1972		Nacionalista	6th Congress
11		Gil Puyat (1907–1980)	January 26, 1967	September 23, 1972		Nacionalista	7th Congress
The legislative functions of Congress were absorbed by the president of the Philippines from 1972 to 1978, when the unicameral Batasang Pambansa was formed during the Fourth Republic. For the speakers of the Batasang Pambansa, see Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. After the 1986 EDSA Revolution, the president held legislative powers until a restored bicameral Congress could be elected into office.
12		Jovito R. Salonga (1920–2016)	July 27, 1987	January 18, 1992		Liberal	8th Congress
13		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001)	January 18, 1992	January 18, 1993		LDP	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	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)	June 28, 1999	July 12, 2000		LAMMP
18		Franklin Drilon (born 1945)	July 12, 2000	November 13, 2000		Independent
19		Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (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)	12th Congress
						Liberal (from 2003)	13th Congress
20		Manny Villar (born 1949)	July 24, 2006	November 17, 2008		Nacionalista	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	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	15th Congress
(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	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	19th Congress

Timeline

Notes

^ Senate President Manuel Quezon went on leave briefly in 1932.^[3] That same year, Quezon made trips to the United States due to mounting opposition and protests in U.S. Congress regarding the proposed Hare-Hawes Cutting bill.^[4] During this period, Senator Jose Clarin served as acting senate president.^[3]

Sources

References

^ "Biography of Senate President Quezon". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
^ Philippine Education. F.R. Lutz. 1917.
^ ^a ^b ^c Our Delegates to the Constitutional Assembly: English-Spanish (in Spanish). Benipayo Press. 1935.
^ Gripaldo, Rolando (2017). "Quezon and Osmeña on the Hare-Hawes Cutting and Tydings-McDuffie Act" (PDF). Quezon-Winslow Correspondence and Other Essays.
^ "The Legislative Branch: Commonwealth of the Philippines, 1935 – 1946". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
^ "Biography of Senate President Roxas". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

[5] Senate President Manuel Quezon went on leave briefly in 1932.^[3] That same year, Quezon made trips to the United States due to mounting opposition and protests in U.S. Congress regarding the proposed Hare-Hawes Cutting bill.^[4] During this period, Senator Jose Clarin served as acting senate president.^[3]

[:0-1] "Biography of Senate President Quezon". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

[2] Philippine Education. F.R. Lutz. 1917.

[OurDelegates1935-3] Our Delegates to the Constitutional Assembly: English-Spanish (in Spanish). Benipayo Press. 1935.

[4] Gripaldo, Rolando (2017). "Quezon and Osmeña on the Hare-Hawes Cutting and Tydings-McDuffie Act" (PDF). Quezon-Winslow Correspondence and Other Essays.

[:1-6] "The Legislative Branch: Commonwealth of the Philippines, 1935 – 1946". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

[:2-7] "Biography of Senate President Roxas". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved February 8, 2019.

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