List of presidents of the Senate of the Philippines

Manuel L. Quezon was the first president of the Philippine Senate.

Quintín Paredes was 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]

The office was created in 1916, following the establishment of the Philippine Senate to replace the Philippine Commission as the upper house of the national legislature. The Senate president is the administrative head of the chamber and the ex officio chairperson of the Commission on Appointments. ^[2] By parliamentary tradition, the Senate president does not usually participate in debates on the floor, but may do so during formal interpellations by temporarily relinquishing the chair to the president pro tempore or any designated senator.

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. If there is only one nominee for the position, the candidate is elected by acclamation. While no election has occurred in which a candidate failed to receive a majority vote, the roll call is presumed to be repeated until the Senate elects a president.

Altogether, 25 individuals have served as president of the Senate. The current Senate president is Tito Sotto, who was elected on September 8, 2025. ^[3]

List of Senate presidents

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
			Took office	Left office
1		Manuel L. Quezon Senator for the 5th District (1878–1944) [4] [5]	October 16, 1916	November 15, 1935		Nacionalista (until 1922)	4th Legislature
							5th Legislature
						Nacionalista Colectivista (1922–1925)	6th Legislature
						Nacionalista (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) [6]	June 9, 1945	May 28, 1946		Nacionalista (until 1946)	1st Commonwealth Congress
						Liberal (from 1946)
3		José Avelino (1890–1986) [7]	May 28, 1946	February 21, 1949		Liberal	2nd Commonwealth Congress
							1st Congress
4		Mariano Jesús Cuenco (1888–1964) [8]	February 21, 1949	December 30, 1951		Liberal
							2nd Congress
5		Quintín Paredes (1884–1973) [9]	March 5, 1952	April 17, 1952		Liberal
6		Camilo Osías (1889–1976) [9]	April 17, 1952	April 30, 1952		Nacionalista
7		Eulogio Rodriguez (1883–1964) [9]	April 30, 1952	April 17, 1953		Nacionalista
8		Camilo Osías (1889–1976) [9]	April 17, 1953	May 20, 1953		Nacionalista
9		Jose Zulueta (1889–1972) [9]	May 20, 1953	November 30, 1953		Liberal
10		Eulogio Rodriguez (1883–1964) [10]	November 30, 1953	April 5, 1963		Nacionalista
							3rd Congress
							4th Congress
							5th Congress
11		Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989) [11]	April 5, 1963	December 30, 1965		Liberal (until 1964)
						Nacionalista (from 1964)
12		Arturo Tolentino (1910–2004) [12]	January 17, 1966	January 26, 1967		Nacionalista	6th Congress
13		Gil Puyat (1907–1980) [13]	January 26, 1967	January 17, 1973		Nacionalista
							7th Congress
Senate abolished [f] (January 17, 1973 – July 27, 1987)
14		Jovito Salonga (1920–2016) [14]	July 27, 1987	January 18, 1992		Liberal	8th Congress
15		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001) [15]	January 18, 1992	January 18, 1993		LDP
							9th Congress
16		Edgardo Angara (1934–2018) [16]	January 18, 1993	August 28, 1995		LDP
							10th Congress
17		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001) [15]	August 29, 1995	October 10, 1996		LDP
18		Ernesto Maceda (1935–2016) [17]	October 10, 1996	January 26, 1998		NPC
19		Neptali Gonzales (1923–2001) [15]	January 26, 1998	June 30, 1998		LDP
20		Marcelo Fernan (1927–1999) [18]	July 27, 1998	June 28, 1999		LDP	11th Congress
21		Blas Ople (1927–2003) [19]	July 26, 1999	April 13, 2000		LAMP
22		Franklin Drilon (born 1945) [20]	April 13, 2000	November 13, 2000		LAMP (until November 3, 2000)
						Independent (from November 3, 2000)
23		Nene Pimentel (1933–2019) [21]	November 13, 2000	June 30, 2001		PDP–Laban
24		Franklin Drilon (born 1945) [22]	July 23, 2001	July 24, 2006		Independent (until 2003)	12th Congress
						Liberal (from 2003)
							13th Congress
25		Manny Villar (born 1949) [23]	July 24, 2006	November 17, 2008		Nacionalista
							14th Congress
26		Juan Ponce Enrile (1924–2025) [24]	November 17, 2008	June 5, 2013		PMP
							15th Congress
27		Franklin Drilon (born 1945) [25]	July 22, 2013	June 30, 2016		Liberal	16th Congress
28		Koko Pimentel (born 1964) [26]	July 25, 2016	May 21, 2018		PDP–Laban	17th Congress
29		Tito Sotto (born 1948) [27]	May 21, 2018	June 30, 2022		NPC
							18th Congress
30		Juan Miguel Zubiri (born 1969) [28]	July 25, 2022	May 20, 2024		Independent	19th Congress
31		Francis Escudero (born 1969) [29]	May 20, 2024	September 8, 2025		NPC
							20th Congress
32		Tito Sotto (born 1948) [30]	September 8, 2025	Incumbent		NPC

Timeline

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	Juan Ponce Enrile	4 years, 200 days	2	2008; 2010
6	Jovito Salonga	4 years, 175 days	1	1987
7	Tito Sotto	4 years, 122 days	3	2018; 2019; 2025
8	Mariano Jesús Cuenco	2 years, 312 days	3	1949 (2); 1952
9	José Avelino	2 years, 269 days	2	1946; 1948
10	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	Koko Pimentel	1 year, 300 days	1	2016
15	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

Notes

1. Includes the tenures of Manuel Roxas in 1946, Ferdinand Marcos from 1963 to 1964, and Franklin Drilon from 2003 to 2006 and 2013 to 2016.
2. Includes the tenures of Manuel Roxas from 1945 to 1946 and Ferdinand Marcos from 1964 to 1965.
3. Manuel L. Quezon served as president of the Senate under the Colectivista faction of the Nacionalista Party from 1922 to 1925, and the Democratico faction from 1934 to 1935.
4. Includes the tenure of Franklin Drilon from July to November 3, 2000.
5. Includes the tenures of Franklin Drilon from November 3–13, 2000 and from 2001 to 2003.
6. The ratification of the 1973 Constitution abolished the Senate, and a unicameral legislature was established, later known as the Batasang Pambansa.

See also

• List of President of the Senate of the Philippines elections
• Floor leaders of the Senate of the Philippines
• List of current presidents of legislatures

References

1. "The Senate Proper". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved November 28, 2025.
2. Gavilan, Jodesz (May 20, 2024). "Things to know: Duties and responsibilities of the Senate president". Rappler. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
3. Ombay, Giselle (September 8, 2025). "Sotto replaces Escudero as Senate president". GMA News Online. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
4. "Biography of Senate President Quezon". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved February 8, 2019.
5. Onorato, Michael P. (1966). "The Jones Act and the Establishment of a Filipino Government, 1916-1921". Philippine Studies. 14 (3): 448–459. ISSN   0031-7837. JSTOR   42720121.
6. "Biography of Senate President Roxas". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved February 8, 2019.
7. "History of the Senate - Congress of the Philippines (1946-1972)". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved August 18, 2025.
8. "Senators Profile - Mariano J. Cuenco". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 14, 2025.
9. "List of Previous Senators – Second Congress". Senate of the Philippines .
10. "Biography of Senate President Rodriguez". Senate of the Philippines .
11. "Ferdinand Marcos | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO. 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
12. "Biography of Senate President Tolentino". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
13. "Biography of Senate President Puyat". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
14. Maragay, Feliciano V. (July 28, 1987). "Salonga spells out Senate vision". Manila Standard . pp. 1–2. Retrieved August 11, 2025.
15. "Biography of Senate President Gonzales". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
16. "Senator Edgardo J. Angara". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
17. "Biography of Senate President Maceda". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 15, 2025.
18. "Biography of Senate President Fernan". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 14, 2025.
19. "Biography of Senate President Ople". Senate of the Philippines .
20. Javellana, Juliet L. (April 13, 2000). "Drilon warns against anti-Erap plots". Philippine Daily Inquirer . p. 3. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
21. Danao, Efren (November 14, 2000). "Drilon ousted in Senate coup". Philstar.com. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
22. Calica, Aurea (July 23, 2001). "Drilon is back at Senate helm". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
23. "Senator Manny Villar". Senate of the Philippines . Retrieved September 14, 2025.
24. Mendez, Christina (November 18, 2008). "Villar ousted; Enrile elected Senate president". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
25. Macaraig, Ayee (July 22, 2013). "Drilon is Senate President again". Rappler. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
26. Ager, Maila (July 25, 2016). "Koko Pimentel takes Senate presidency by 20-3 vote". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
27. Elemia, Camille (May 21, 2018). "Tito Sotto elected as Senate president". Rappler. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
28. Luna, Franco (July 25, 2022). "Juan Miguel Zubiri is new Senate president". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
29. Ager, Maila (May 20, 2024). "Chiz Escudero is new Senate president; Miguel Zubiri out". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
30. Moaje, Marita (September 8, 2025). "Sotto back as Senate President, vows to fight corruption". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved September 15, 2025.