President of the Senate of the Philippines

President of the Senate of the Philippines
Incumbent Franklin Drilon since July 22, 2013
Style	The Honorable
Appointer	Elected by the Senate of the Philippines
Inaugural holder	Manuel L. Quezon
Formation	October 16, 1916
Website	Senate

Philippines

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The President of the Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: Pangulo ng Senado ng Pilipinas) or more popularly known as the Senate President, is the presiding officer and the highest ranking-official of the Senate of the Philippines. He/she is elected by the entire body to be their leader. The current Senate President of the 16th Congress of the Philippines is Frank Drilon, who was elected on July 22, 2013.

The Senate President is second in line in succession for the presidency, behind the Vice President and in front of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Election

The Senate President is elected by the majority of the members of the Senate; since there are 24 senators, thirteen votes are needed to win the Senate Presidency, including any vacant seats or senators not attending the session. Although Senate presidents are elected at the start of each Congress, there had been numerous instances of Senate coups in which a sitting Senate President is unseated in the middle of session. Term-sharing agreements among Senators who are both eyeing the position of the Senate President also played a role in changing the leadership of the Senate, but in a smooth manner, the peaceful transition of power

Unlike most Senate Presidents that are the symbolic presiding officers of the upper house, the Senate President of the Philippines wields considerate power by influencing the legislative agenda and has the ability to vote not just in order to break ties, although the Senate President is traditionally the last senator to vote. A tied vote, therefore, means that the motion is lost, and that the Senate President cannot cast a tie-breaking vote since that would mean that the presiding officer would have had voted twice.

Powers and duties

According to the Rules of the Senate, the Senate President has the powers and duties to:

To preside over the sessions of the Senate on the days and at the hours designated by it; to call the Senate to order and, if there is a quorum, to order the reading of the Journal of the preceding session and, after the Senate shall have acted upon it, to dispose of the matters appearing in the Order of Business in accordance with the Rules;
To decide all points of order;
To sign all measures, memorials, joint and concurrent resolutions; issue warrants, orders of arrest, subpoena and subpoena duces tecum;
To see to it that all resolutions of the Senate are complied with;
To have general control over the session hall, the antechambers, corridors and offices of the Senate;
To maintain order in the session hall, the antechambers, corridors and in the offices of the Senate, and whenever there is disorder, to take appropriate measures to quell it;
To designate an Acting Sergeant-at-Arms, if the Sergeant-at-Arms resigns, is replaced or becomes incapacitated;
To appoint the subordinate personnel of the Senate in conformity with the provisions of the General Appropriations Act;
To dismiss any employee for cause, which dismissal in the case of permanent and classified employees shall be in conformity with the Civil Service Law; and
To diminish or increase the number of authorized personnel by consolidating or separating positions or items whenever the General Appropriations Act so authorizes and the total amount of salaries or allocations does not exceed the amount earmarked therein.

The Senate President is also the ex officio chairman of the Commission on Appointments, a constitutional body within the Congress that has the sole power to confirm all appointments made by the President of the Philippines . Under Section 2 of Chapter 2 of the Rules of the Commission on Appointments, the powers and duties of the Senate President as its Ex-Officio Chairman are as follows:

to issue calls for the meetings of the Commission;
to preside at the meetings of the Commission;
to preserve order and decorum during the session and, for that purpose, to take such steps as may be convenient or as the Commission may direct;
to pass upon all questions of order, but from his decision, any member may appeal to the Commission; and,
to execute such decisions, orders, and resolutions as may have been approved by the Commission.

And if other impeachable officers other than the President such as the Ombudsman is on an impeachment trial, the Senate President is the presiding officer and shall be the last to vote on the judgment on such cases according to the Senate Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Trials the Senate adopted on March 23, 2011.

In the Senate, he supervises the committees and attended its hearings and meetings if necessary and such committee reports are being submitted to his/her office.

List of Senate Presidents

The Senate was created on 1916 with the abolition of the Philippine Commission as the upper house with the Philippine Assembly as the lower house. The Senate and the House of Representatives comprised the Philippine Legislature (PL). Representation was by senatorial district; Manuel L. Quezon was elected Senator from the now-defunct 5th Legislative District.

All Senators from 1941 onwards were elected at-large, with the whole Philippines as one constituency.

Independent

Nacionalista

Liberal

Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP)

Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC)

Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (LAMMP/PMP)

Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban)

#		Party	Legislature	Start of service	End of service	Era
1	Manuel L. Quezon	Nacionalista	4th Philippine Legislature	1916	1919	Insular Government
			5th Philippine Legislature	1919	1922
			6th Philippine Legislature	1922	1925
			7th Philippine Legislature	1925	1928
			8th Philippine Legislature	1928	1931
			9th Philippine Legislature	1931	1934
			10th Philippine Legislature	1934	1935
The Senate and the House of Representatives were merged into the unicameral National Assembly in 1935 at the onset of the Commonwealth period. It was replaced by the bicameral Commonwealth Congress (CC) with the amendment of the 1935 Constitution in 1940, with the first election for a senate elected at large held in November, 1941. However, the outbreak of World War II in the Philippines meant that the Commonwealth Congress did not convene until 1945. For leaders of the National Assembly, see Speakers of the National Assembly.						Commonwealth
2	Manuel Roxas	Nacionalista (Liberal wing)	1st Commonwealth Congress	July 9, 1945	May 25, 1946
3	José Avelino	Liberal	2nd Commonwealth Congress	May 25, 1946	July 4, 1946
3	José Avelino	Liberal	1st Congress	July 5, 1946	February 21, 1949	Third Republic
4	Mariano Jesús Cuenco	Liberal	1st Congress	February 21, 1949	December 30, 1949
4	Mariano Jesús Cuenco	Liberal	2nd Congress	December 30, 1949	December 30, 1951
5	Quintin Paredes	Liberal		March 5, 1952	April 17, 1952
6	Camilo Osías	Nacionalista		April 17, 1952	April 30, 1952
7	Eulogio Rodriguez	Nacionalista		April 30, 1952	April 17, 1953
8	Camilo Osías (2nd time)	Liberal		April 17, 1953	April 30, 1953
9	Jose Zulueta	Liberal		April 30, 1953	November 30, 1953
10	Eulogio Rodriguez (2nd time)	Nacionalista		November 30, 1953	December 30, 1953
			3rd Congress	January 25, 1954	December 30, 1957
			4th Congress	January 27, 1958	December 30, 1961
			5th Congress	January 22, 1962	April 5, 1963
11	Ferdinand Marcos	Liberal		April 5, 1963	April 1964
11	Ferdinand Marcos	Nacionalista		April 1964	December 30, 1965
12	Arturo Tolentino	Nacionalista	6th Congress	January 17, 1966	January 26, 1967
13	Gil Puyat	Nacionalista	6th Congress	January 26, 1967	December 30, 1969
13	Gil Puyat	Nacionalista	7th Congress	January 26, 1970	September 23, 1972
The legislative functions of Congress were absorbed by the President from 1972 to 1978 when the unicameral Batasang Pambansa was formed during the Fourth Republic. For leaders of the Batasang Pambansa, see Speakers of the Batasang Pambansa. After the 1986 EDSA Revolution, the president held legislative powers until a restored bicameral Congress can be elected into office.						Fourth Republic
14	Jovito Salonga	Liberal	8th Congress	July 27, 1987	January 1, 1992^[1]	Fifth Republic
15	Neptali Gonzales	LDP	8th Congress	January 1, 1992^[2]	June 30, 1992
15	Neptali Gonzales	LDP	9th Congress	July 27, 1992	January 18, 1993
16	Edgardo Angara	LDP	9th Congress	January 18, 1993	June 30, 1995
16	Edgardo Angara	LDP	10th Congress	July 24, 1995	August 28, 1995
17	Neptali Gonzales (2nd time)	LDP		August 29, 1995	October 10, 1996
18	Ernesto Maceda	NPC		October 10, 1996	January 26, 1998
19	Neptali Gonzales (3rd time)	LDP		January 26, 1998	June 30, 1998
20	Marcelo Fernan	LDP	11th Congress	July 27, 1998	June 28, 1999
21	Blas Ople	LAMP		June 29, 1999	July 12, 2000^[3]
22	Franklin Drilon	LAMP		July 12, 2000^[4]	November 13, 2000
23	Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.	PDP-LABAN		November 13, 2000	June 30, 2001
24	Franklin Drilon (2nd time)	Independent	12th Congress	July 23, 2001	November 24, 2003
		Liberal	12th Congress	November 24, 2003	June 30, 2004
		Liberal	13th Congress	July 24, 2004	July 24, 2006
25	Manny Villar	Nacionalista	13th Congress	July 24, 2006	June 30, 2007
25	Manny Villar	Nacionalista	14th Congress	July 23, 2007	November 17, 2008
26	Juan Ponce Enrile	PMP	14th Congress	November 17, 2008	June 30, 2010
26	Juan Ponce Enrile	PMP	15th Congress	July 26, 2010	June 5, 2013
—	Jinggoy Estrada (Acting)	PMP	15th Congress	June 5, 2013	June 30, 2013
27	Franklin Drilon (3rd time)	Liberal	16th Congress	July 22, 2013	present

Timeline

Living former Senate Presidents

Currently there are seven living former Senate Presidents:

Living Former Senate Presidents
Edgardo Angara (LDP), served 1993-1995
Ernesto Maceda (NPC), served 1996-1998
Franklin Drilon (LP), served 2000, 2001-2006
Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban), served 2000-2001
Manny Villar (NP), served 2006-2008
Juan Ponce Enrile (PMP/UNA), served 2008–2013

Legend: Boldface means still the incumbent Senator.

Sources

References

Senate of the Philippines

Officers	Senate President Senate President pro tempore Floor leaders (Majority leader, Minority leader) Secretary

Senators	Per senatorial districts Schurman Commission Taft Commission 4th Legislature 5th Legislature 6th Legislature 7th Legislature 8th Legislature 1st Commonwealth Congress 2nd Commonwealth Congress/1st Congress 2nd Congress 3rd Congress 4th Congress 5th Congress 6th Congress 7th Congress 8th Congress 9th Congress 10th Congress 11th Congress 12th Congress 13th Congress 14th Congress 15th Congress 16th Congress

Elections	1916 Senators 1919 Senators 1922 Senators 1925 Senators 1928 Senators 1931 Senators 1934 Senators 1941 Senators 1946 Senators 1947 Senators 1949 Senators 1951 Senators 1953 Senators 1955 Senators 1957 Senators 1959 Senators 1961 Senators 1963 Senators 1965 Senators 1967 Senators 1969 Senators 1971 Senators 1987 Senators 1992 Senators 1995 Senators 1998 Senators 2001 Senators 2004 Senators 2007 Senators 2010 Senators 2013 Senators Special

Standing committees	Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon) Accounts Agrarian Reform Agriculture and Food Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies Civil Service and Government Reorganization Climate Change Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws Cooperatives Cultural Communities Economic Affairs Education, Arts and Culture Energy Environment and Natural Resources Ethics and Privileges Finance Foreign Relations Games, Amusement and Sports Government Corporations and Public Enterprises Health and Demography Justice and Human Rights Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development Local Government National Defense and Security Peace, Unification and Reconciliation Public Information and Mass Media Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Public Services Public Works Rules Science and Technology Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development Tourism Trade and Commerce Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement Ways and Means Youth, Women and Family Relations

Other bodies	Commission on Appointments Senate Electoral Tribunal Judicial and Bar Council

Symbols	Seal Mace

See also	Philippine Commission

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