Marcos sees no disruption in admin agenda after Senate shakeup

PRESIDENT AGAIN. Senator Vicente Sotto III takes his oath as the new Senate President on Monday (Sept. 8, 2025) before his predecessor, Senator Francis Escudero. He was also the Senate leader before he ended his term in 2022. (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Tuesday the change in Senate leadership is an “internal matter” and is unlikely to derail the administration’s legislative priorities.

“Well, that remains to be seen. But I do not actually see any problem in terms of the legislative agenda that the executive and the legislature have agreed to undertake for the next Congress,” Marcos told reporters in Cambodia.

The Senate “knows how to organize itself,” he said, expressing confidence that the chamber would continue working on its agenda despite the leadership turnover.

“And if Senator Sotto is now the SP (Senate president) again, then I do not see that it will change very much from what our agenda – that we had agreed upon when Senator Chiz was SP,” he said.

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III reassumed the Senate presidency on Monday evening, replacing Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, following weeks of internal movement in the upper chamber.