Daven Tamayo

Sotto: Not enough votes to make Legarda Senate president

Article (news)

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Friday said the majority did not plan to give the Senate presidency to Senator Loren Legarda to prevent a &quot;coup&quot;.  According to Sotto, there would not be enough votes to make it happen.Sotto said the &quot;coup plotters&quot; never had enough numbers as he explained how leadership changes in the Senate are usually done.&quot;That&#x27;s inaccurate. As a matter of fact, false. Because as early as the roll call, alam na namin na walang motion or walang numero to unseat the leadership,&quot; he said. &quot;To unseat the leader, you must have 13 votes. The 13 votes, you must have it in writing. In fact, hindi pwedeng commitment na salita lang,” Sotto added.Sotto explained that moving to change the leadership without written commitments of support is dangerous.&quot;That is a very dangerous move. Mapapahiya ka. Bakit? Palagay mo, wala. Nagcommit lang sa&#x27;yo. Wala kang manifestation. Tititindig ka ngayon sa Senate floor. Sasabihin mo ngayon, I move that we declare sasabihin mo ngayon, I move that we declare the position of Senate President vacant. O kaya, I move that we declare all positions vacant. Actually, ganun ang style doon talaga eh. All positions vacant eh. Eh kung hindi bumoto ang majority na nasa floor, tapos ka na agad, napahiya ka,&quot; he said.&quot;O palagay natin, pumayag, tapos nag-nominate si ganito, si ganito. Tapos may nag-nominate ng iba na kandidato. Nagbotohan. Walang 13 ang nakuha mo. Di napahiya ka. So never ginawa yun. Never ginawa sa Senate yung sa floor biglang magmamotion. It&#x27;s always a commitment na black and white,” he added.Sotto explained that once an incumbent sees there are enough written commitments to replace him, the incumbent walks away.He also clarified that this is separate from the banter in the Senate lounge where Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri suggested, albeit initially in jest, to make Legarda Senate chief towards the end of the 20th Congress.&quot;So, it doesn&#x27;t matter kung yung biruan namin sa loob ng lounge tungkol sa palitan or sa whatever. Wala nang kinalaman yun sa session itself. Kasi nga, we found out, the majority found out that they do not have the, the minority does not have the numbers to change the leadership,” Sotto explained.Sotto believes those who want him out have two triggers: better committee chairmanships, after Senator Imee Marcos was removed as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee while the Senate is tackling a resolution critical of China; and the draft Blue Ribbon Committee report on the flood control scandal which among others, recommended a slew of criminal and administrative charges against three minority Senators.He also revealed that offering Legarda the Senate Presidency is not a new idea, as they have already offered it to her at the start of the 20th Congress.&quot;Oo. Noong araw, napag-usapan namin yung ayaw niya…Noong 20th Congress, pag-upo pa lang, noong after elections, tapos before the SONA napag-usapan namin,” he said.Sotto said he harbors no ill will against colleagues who wanted him out, and even offered an olive branch to the minority.&quot;In the sense na hindi kailangan maging majority-minority. Yes, in a way na pwede kaming magsama-sama as a ika nga for the same advocacies,” he said.Sotto maintained that he has not been unfair to the minority.&quot;Kasi ang majority magsasabi ka agad sa akin eh. Kung ano ang ayaw nila, ano ang gusto nila. Sa minority, maaaring baka hindi sila natutuwa na baka akala nila hindi pantay-pantay ang trato sa Senado. Yan lang nakikita ko. Pero pantay-pantay, definitely.&quot;According to Sotto, there will always be attempts to change the leadership.He earlier confirmed plans to make Legarda the first female Senate President before the 20th Congress ends in 3 years.This, after he also confirmed that the Senate majority foiled an attempt to unseat him from the post.Sotto, however, clarified there is no term sharing agreement between him and Legarda.Legarda has kept her distance from talks that the minority offered to make her Senate chief if she defected to them along with other senators.Legarda was spotted presiding over the end of the plenary session Wednesday, with Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri addressing her as &quot;Madame President.&quot;Legarda afterwards joined 9 other senators in a group picture, which Zubiri&#x27;s office said was the &quot;majority.&quot;<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/5/loren-on-alleged-senate-presidency-deal-i-have-no-idea-1447">Loren on alleged Senate Presidency deal: &#x27;I have no idea&#x27;</a></div>

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Friday said the majority did not plan to give the Senate presidency to Senator Loren Legarda to prevent a "coup".

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Friday said the majority did not plan to give the Senate presidency to Senator Loren Legarda to prevent a "coup".