Sotto confirms plan to name Legarda next Senate chief; term-sharing floated

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President  Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Wednesday confirmed their plan to install Sen. Loren Legarda as the next Senate President before the 20th Congress ends in 2028.

At first, Sotto said the term-sharing agreement floated between him and Legarda was only a joke but he later added that they plan to make Legarda the next Senate chief.

“Biro lang,” Sotto said, “But we plan to make her SP before [the] 20th Congress ends,”  he said in a Viber message. 

It was Sen. JV Ejercito, who first disclosed about the term-sharing agreement between Sotto and  Legarda as discussed during a lounge talk on Wednesday in the Senate.

The meeting during the break of session was attended by nine members of the majority bloc— Sotto, Legarda, Ejercito, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, and Bam Aquino.

It was Pangilinan who posted a photo of the meeting which  showed  Legarda sitting beside Sotto.

READ: Senate presidency dangled to Legarda, say Lacson, Sotto

The photo had the hashtag “powersharing.”

“May usapan ng term-sharing (between SP Sotto and  Sen. Loren…),” Ejercito later told reporters about that meeting.

(There was an agreement on term-sharing between SP Sotto and Sen. Loren…)

Based on discussion, the term-sharing  would be enforced “towards the end of the term.”

“Parang yun ang usapan kanina e.  Ganun lang, lounge talk. Para daw all’s well that ends well na at least maganda,  walang away, term-sharing kung sakali. Lounge talk naman yun. Nothing formal,”  Ejercito added.

(That seemed to be the discussion earlier. Just casual, lounge talk. So that ‘all’s well that ends well.’ At least  it’s good, no conflicts, it would be term-sharing if ever.)