Senator Sonny Angara said he is leaving it up to the upcoming members of the majority to decide who would be the next Senate leader, but is vouching for Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri to be the next Senate president.

Angara issued the statement in an interview saying that while he doesn’t expect anyone else to pull surprises, he believes it has been settled that Zubiri would get the top Senate post in the next 19th Congress.

“I am hoping and expecting that Sen. Zubiri will be the next Senate president. I think it’s a logical move for him and he’s very capable of performing that mandate, given that he was majority leader for several years,” Angara said in an interview on The Chiefs.

“If you look at past Senate Presidents, a lot of them were also Majority Leaders like Senate President Sotto, Senate President Drilon, among others,” he pointed out.

Angara also confirmed that he is still interested to maintain chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Finance since he has a good track record of performance as its head.

“Yes, I am still interested because I am the current chairperson. And I think, I did okay in my past performance. So, I think, I’d still do a decent job if I were elected to the position,” Angara said in an interview on CNN Philippines.

According to Angara, Senator Imee Marcos, sister of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. has approached him also expressing her interest in the position.

“Actually, she met with me and Sen. (Cynthia) Villar. I think a month ago, to express that she was interested in the position,” he said.

“But I told her, let’s discuss it. Because again, it's not my decision to make. I said, let's talk with our colleagues and hear them out. I said, I am open to (relinquishing it)---because as I’ve said, we don’t own this panel. It is something that our colleagues have to decide on,” Angara stressed.