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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Handang-handa': Sotto ready to lead minority if Senate presidency eludes him

'Handang-handa': Sotto ready to lead minority if Senate presidency eludes him

Published Jun 30, 2025 02:53 pm

At A Glance

  • Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III expressed readiness to serve as Senate minority leader if not elected Senate President, emphasizing his commitment to Senate independence and principled leadership regardless of political alliances.
Senator Vicente Tito Sotto III expressed readiness to take on the role of Senate minority leader if he fails to clinch the Senate presidency in the 20th Congress.
Senator Vicente ‘Tito’ C. Sotto III took his oath of office before COMELEC Commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr. on Monday, June 30, at the National Museum of Fine Arts. Also present were his wife and family. (John Louie Abrina)
Senator Vicente ‘Tito’ C. Sotto III took his oath of office before COMELEC Commissioner Ernesto Maceda Jr. on Monday, June 30, at the National Museum of Fine Arts. Also present were his wife and family. (John Louie Abrina)
Handang-handa ako, in case na ako'y hindi ihalal ng ating mga aming mga kasama. Handa naman ako mahalal as minority leader (I am fully prepared, in case I am not elected by our colleagues. I am also ready to be elected as the minority leader), he said during an interview on Monday, June 30.
Sotto also stated that he's already served as minority leader before, and it was the late Senator Nene Pimentel who taught him that when he's the minority leader, he needs to be familiar with every bill, every resolution, and every matter discussed in the Senate.
You need to get involved in everything, he added.
For Sotto, becoming Senate President will depend on his colleagues, and if he gets elected by his fellow senators and there are discussions to make that happen, he will accept it.
He added that he's not like others who actively campaign to become Senate President.
Yung akin hinihintay ko, katulad ng nangyari noong 2017 at katulad ng nangyari sa mga dating Senate Presidents, inaalok namin ang pagka-Senate President sapagkat ang tingin namin siya'y magiging mahusay na leader ng aming Kongreso during that time (In my case, I wait, just like what happened in 2017 and in the cases of past Senate Presidents. We offered them the Senate presidency because we believed they would be effective leaders of our Congress at that time), he added.
Asked how he would be a fiscalizer if he ran under Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, backed by President Marcos, Sotto said that the Senate raised him to be independent.
I always espouse the independence of the Senate. That is how you preserve the integrity and reputation of the Senate: by remaining independent. You can't just follow orders from the Palace. You have to be cooperative, but critical when necessary, he said.
Even though he was part of Alyansa, Sotto said that it wasn't meant to make them all think or act the same, or to follow the administration blindly, but rather for them to unite and work together.

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Tito Sotto III Tito Sotto minority leader 20th Congress
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