No change in leadership is expected in the Senate before the chamber adjourns its session on Friday, at least according to Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
Speaking to reporters in a press conference on Monday, Sotto quashed circulating rumors surrounding an alleged attempt to unseat him, particularly noting that he is not expecting any action in the plenary session before its scheduled adjournment on October 10.
‘We are not expecting anything like that,’ he told reporters in Filipino when asked about the matter.
Following the adjournment, the Senate’s session is scheduled to resume on November 10, 2025. To note, a leadership change in the upper chamber can only transpire when there is a plenary session.
Frankly speaking, Sotto said he does not know where the alleged coup d’etat against him is coming from.
‘You know here in the Senate, if a story comes from social media, well it would easily spread. But I don’t see it coming anywhere. In fact the other day, I talked with Sen. [Alan Peter] Cayetano and he told me that he is not talking with anyone and I believe him,’ he said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Cayetano, at present, is the chamber’s Minority Leader. Rumors circulating on social media point to him as Sotto’s alleged successor as the Senate chief.
But could the alleged coup be coming from outside forces? Sotto said it remains a possibility.
‘Possible. Maybe someone is just instilling intrigue in the Senate because I talked with the minority leadership and we have not any misunderstandings,’ he said in Filipino. He, however, refrained from answering which group he thinks could be behind the alleged attempt to unseat him.
‘We should not allow these talks to hamper the work of the Senate and that’s the reason why last week, we’ve decided to suspend the session while the agenda or the pending bills are not yet here. You’ve seen that the pending treaties we’ve already passed and after that we suspended the sessions to allow the budget hearings to continue without stoppage,’ he added.
Later in the presser, Sotto was pressed to confirm if not one of the 15 member-majority is planning on leaving the bloc at present – which he answered in the affirmative.
Earlier, Sotto said he is very confident about the support of colleagues in the majority bloc. He particularly said he does not need to conduct a loyalty test because of the confidence and trust he has in his co-senators.
Sotto, in September, took over the Senate Presidency after the then-minority led ouster against Sen. Chiz Escudero became successful.