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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Sotto: Minority offered Senate presidency position to Legarda

Sotto: Minority offered Senate presidency position to Legarda

Published Feb 3, 2026 03:50 pm
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on Tuesday, Feb.3, he was told that the Senate presidency had been offered to Senator Loren Legarda by undisclosed members of the minority bloc.
Senator Loren Legarda (Senate PRIB photo)
Senator Loren Legarda (Senate PRIB photo)
In an interview, Sotto said he learned of the alleged offer directly from Legarda herself just “the other day," amid a rumored coup in the Upper Chamber.
Asked what exactly transpired, Sotto declined to give further details, saying he did not want the details to come from him.
“Yeah, heard that. I was told,” Sotto said when asked if the Senate presidency was indeed offered to Legarda.
Sotto said Legarda told him she was not interested in the offer.
When asked if it would be risky for Legarda to switch sides given her support for his leadership, Sotto said the entire majority bloc remains “very solid.”
He added that one or two senators who were previously not part of their group might even end up joining them, though he clarified that these discussions have been ongoing for some time and that no formal approach was made recently.
Sotto confirmed that the alleged offer to Legarda came from the minority but declined to identify who made the offer, reiterating that questions on specifics should be directed to Legarda herself.
Before this confirmation by Sotto, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson called out what he described as a “malicious and sadistic” narrative linking Legarda to an alleged bid to change the Senate leadership.
Lacson said that after efforts to entice Legarda with the Senate presidency failed, those behind the supposed leadership move are spreading the lie that she volunteered to help them gather support.
"After dangling the Senate presidency to her, they are now floating the falsehood that it was Sen. Loren who volunteered to recruit warm bodies to pave the way for a new Senate majority. It is not only malicious. It is sadistic," he said on X.
On Monday, Lacson described as a "continuing crime" since time immemorial the posts on social media over the weekend, hinting at a leadership change in the Senate.
The social media posts claimed there would be a leadership change in the Senate, supposedly due to the "dissatisfaction" with the current leadership under Sotto.

Related Tags

Loren Legarda Senate President Vicente \"Tito\" Sotto III Ping Lacson Senate of the Philippines
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