SP Sotto ousted; Imee Marcos nominates Alan Cayetano as senate president — ANC

[0:01] With 13 affirmative votes, 10 negative votes, and one abstention, the positions in all the positions... [0:09] We now have Victoria Tulad on the line, joining us from the Senate. [0:13] Hi, Victoria. [0:19] Hi, Michelle. We are here at the session hall of the Senate where, as you have seen or you have heard, [0:27] there was a vote to declare vacant all of the positions in the Senate. [0:32] The affirmative vote was 13, the negative was 10, and there was one. [0:37] So, currently, the session is at pause. [0:42] They will vote for the new officials, of course, including the Senate president, the majority leader, and other officials of the Senate. [0:49] This comes at a surprise, although there has been talks, there has been rumors about a possible coup today, and it has actually happened. [0:59] And a few minutes after the Senate session started today, we were also surprised that Senator Ronald Bato de la Rosa suddenly entered the session hall after being absent since November 2025. [1:13] We saw him very furious because he said that personnel of the National Bureau of Investigation who are here at the Senate today prevented him from entering the Senate. [1:26] He even said he had to wrestle his way in just to enter the Senate premises, and he was showing us his fingers where I think he sustained cuts because he had to force his way in allegedly because of the NBI. [1:46] So, he was treated by members of the medical staff of the Senate, and he said he will talk to the media after the voting or maybe after the session. [1:57] He said, when he was asked by members of the media why he was here, he said that, in Filipino, lagi ni akong hinahanap. [2:06] Now that I'm here, I need to do my mandate. [2:09] That's a paraphrase of what he told us earlier during the session. [2:14] And they also complained, him and Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, to the security staff of the Senate, as to why there was such prevention from the NBI. [2:26] And also, I'd like to mention, Michelle, that earlier, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano was elected to be the new Senate president. [2:37] But as of this moment, Senator Jingo Estrada is on the rostrum. [2:42] He is seated, and he will be officiating the session after former Senate President Tito Soto went down. [2:49] Michelle? [2:49] Victoria, just a few clarifications. [2:52] So, Senate President Tito Soto is no longer the presiding officer? [2:59] That would be the case. [3:01] He stepped down after the vote of 13, 10, and 1, and we are awaiting the voting that will happen in a couple of minutes. [3:09] Some senators are talking right now, former SP Soto, or former SP Soto is talking with Senator JV, Senator Kiko Pangilina, Senator Lito Lapid, and Senator Sherwin. [3:22] Victoria, could you give us a list of who were the 13 who voted in affirmative, the 10 and the negative, and one who abstained? [3:29] I need to get back with you, Michelle, regarding that because I wasn't able to take down notes, but I heard some of those I heard who voted in the negative were [3:43] All right, we're now going live to the Senate. Let's listen in. [4:13] There being none, the motion is approved. [4:21] Mr. President, there was a nomination by Senator Amy Marcos to elect Senator Alan Peter Cayetano to be our Senate President, and I don't think, Mr. President, that there's no objection, Mr. President, and so I move that we close the period of nomination, Mr. President. [4:46] Is there an objection? Is there an objection? There being none, the period? Yes. Is that an objection, Senator Pangilinan? [4:58] We do not object because we do not have the numbers, but we would like to manifest our serious reservations, Mr. President, for the record. [5:09] Noted, Senator Pangilinan. There is a pending motion by Senator Villanueva to close the period of nomination. [5:17] Is there any objection? Is there any objection? There being none, motion is hereby approved. [5:25] Majority Leader. [5:27] May we ask, Mr. President, the newly elected Senate President to take his oath, Mr. President, and suspend the session. [5:35] The session is hereby suspended. [5:41] There you have it. Former Senate President Tito Soto has been ousted. [5:46] Estrada is temporary presiding officer. [5:50] Senator Villanueva, as you just heard, is now acting floor director. [5:54] And a vote of 13 in the affirmative, 10 in the negative one abstention. [5:59] They voted to declare all positions in the Senate to be vacant, and they're now going to be voting on new officials to head those committees in the Senate. [6:12] Senator Aimee Marcos nominated. There was a nomination by Senator Aimee Marcos to elect Senator Alan Peter Cayetano to be the Senate President. [6:23] Acting floor leader Villanueva earlier saying, since there's no objection to close the nomination period, Kiko Pangilinan, however, is saying they do not object, but they do have serious reservations. [6:37] Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is now expected to take his oath as new Senate President. [6:42] Of course, this leadership change within the Senate comes at a very critical time. [6:48] There is the VP impeachment that we're all watching. [6:50] There is still the Blue Ribbon Committee investigation in the flood control scandal where some of the Senate members themselves have been tagged. [6:59] So this is going to be an interesting turn of events. [7:04] Once again, we are seeing, we are expecting Senator Alan Peter Cayetano to take his oath as the new Senate President. [7:13] We have been hearing about rumors about the Senate coup against Dito Soto for weeks, and it has finally come to pass. [7:21] The senators have finally voted. [7:26] So we're monitoring two things now, the change in the Senate leadership and, of course, the House, which is set to vote on VP Duterte's impeachment, as you can see in the smaller screen over there. [7:36] So two things we're monitoring very closely in the Congress, the upper and the lower chambers. [7:41] So many things happening. [7:44] Also, for those of you who are just tuning in, finally, absentee Senator Ronald Batod de la Rosa has shown up at the Senate today after being absent since November of last year amid rumors that an arrest warrant has been issued for him in connection to the ICC. [8:09] Well, today, the Philippine police, just recently, the Philippine police served a subpoena on absentee senator in connection with its investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings in the Dabo region, but clarifying that it has nothing to do with the ICC court or whether the ICC court has issued a warrant of arrest for the senator. [8:30] Over the weekend, there was a lot of confusion whether the ICC did issue that arrest warrant. [8:36] The ICC did say there was no public arrest warrant issued in relation to the Philippines. [8:44] Earlier, we had our correspondent, Victoria Tulad, sharing with us a heated exchange in the Senate with Senator Batod de la Rosa being prevented by NBI personnel from entering the Senate. [8:55] She did report he sustained cuts and had to be treated by the medical team in the Senate. [9:00] There were complaints about why he was being prevented from entering the Senate. [9:05] And when asked why he finally showed up, paraphrasing him, our correspondent said, [9:10] Lagi niyo akong hinahanap, andito na ako, to fulfill my mandate. [9:16] So we're still waiting for what happens next here. [9:19] We are waiting for the senator, Alan Peter Cayetano, to take his oath as the next Senate president, [9:26] which makes him the leader of this chamber for when, for if and when, the Senate convenes as an impeachment court. [9:35] Of course, all of that will hinge on the House vote, which we're also monitoring right now, [9:39] whether they will vote for the VP Duterte impeachment, [9:45] getting enough votes to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate. [9:49] We're still monitoring developments from both the Senate, [10:05] the Senate, the Senate, the Senate, the Senate, the Senate, the Senate, the Senate, the Senate. [10:33] And the House, in the Senate, we are just seeing a change in leadership. [10:39] Senator Soto has been ousted as Senate president. [10:41] He will be replaced by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, [10:45] who is expected to take his oath as the new Senate president any moment now. [10:50] We have been hearing rumors about the supposed Senate coup againstito Soto for weeks, [10:56] but really never confirmed, but now it's finally happening. [10:59] Here we are on a vote of 13, voting in the affirmative, 10 in the negative, and one abstention. [11:07] The senators voting to declare all posts vacant.