The president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: Pangulong pro tempore ng Senado ng Pilipinas) is the second highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines. During the absence of the president of the Senate, the president pro tempore presides over the Senate.
| President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines | |
|---|---|
| Pangulong pro tempore ng Senado ng Pilipinas | |
since September 8, 2025 | |
| Senate of the Philippines | |
| Style |
|
| Seat | GSIS Building, Pasay |
| Appointer | Elected by the Senate |
| Term length | At the Senate's pleasure; elected at the beginning of the new Congress by a majority of the senators-elect, and upon a vacancy during a Congress. |
| Inaugural holder | Espiridion Guanco |
| Formation | 1919 |
| Website | Senate of the Philippines |
By tradition, the president pro tempore is elected by a majority vote immediately after the Senate president during the opening of a new Congress, or whenever the position becomes vacant, whether through a motion or the incumbent’s resignation. Although the American custom of electing the most senior member of the majority party as the president pro tempore is not exclusively followed, there have been instances in past Senates when senior members of the majority party have been elected to the position.
The incumbent president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines is Panfilo Lacson.
Powers and duties
According to Rule IV, Section 4 of the Rules of the Senate, the president pro tempore is mandated to discharge the powers and duties of the Senate president in the following cases:
- When the President is absent for one or more days;
- When the President is temporarily incapacitated; or
- In the event of the resignation, removal, death or absolute incapacity of the President.
Section 20 of Rule X of the Senate Rules also provide that along with the floor leaders, the president pro tempore is an ex officio member of all permanent committees, and may also be elected chairperson of any of the committees.
History
The Philippine Senate did not have a president pro tempore from its establishment in 1916 until the 5th Legislature, when Espiridion Guanco of the Nacionalista Party was elected to the position in 1919. Sergio Osmeña became the first president pro tempore to serve as acting Senate president when Manuel Quezon went ill in 1930. He is also the longest to serve as president pro tempore in Senate history. In 1932, José Clarín acted as the Senate president when Quezon went on leave. Upon Clarín's death in 1935, José Avelino would briefly serve as president pro tempore until the Senate was abolished in favor of a unicameral National Assembly.
The Senate was then restored by the constitutional amendment in 1940, but senators elected in 1941 were not able to assume office due to the outbreak of World War II. Congress would only reconvene by 1945, and Elpidio Quirino was elected as president pro tempore alongside Manuel Roxas as Senate president.
Jose Roy served as the last president pro tempore of the Senate when it was abolished for a second time in 1972 upon the declaration of martial law. Teofisto Guingona Jr. served as president pro tempore of the reestablished Senate from 1987 to 1990, and was succeeded by Sotero Laurel.
In 1993, the Senate elected Leticia Ramos-Shahani as its first female president pro tempore. Ramos-Shahani was the first female lawmaker in history to serve as a deputy presiding officer in either houses of Congress. When Marcelo Fernan resigned the Senate presidency in June 1999 due to failing health, president pro tempore Blas Ople was designated as acting presiding officer, until he himself was elected president nearly a month later. Franklin Drilon was temporarily designated by Fernan as the Senate's officer-in-charge before Ople's return from a trip to Switzerland and his assumption as the chamber's acting president.
Juan Ponce Enrile resigned as Senate president on June 5, 2013. President pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada served as acting president until Franklin Drilon was elected president of the Senate on July 22, 2013. Drilon, who had earlier served as president pro tempore under Senate president Koko Pimentel, was later removed from the position along with other Liberal Party senators from their committee chairmanships following a motion by Manny Pacquiao to declare the post vacant. He was succeeded by Ralph Recto, a fellow Liberal and former minority leader, who had previously served as Drilon’s president pro tempore during the 16th Congress.
In June 2022, Juan Miguel Zubiri became the first majority floor leader to concurrently serve as president pro tempore after he was elected to the position to allow the Senate to discharge its administrative functions without interruption while then-Senate president Tito Sotto was nearing the end of his term. Loren Legarda, then the most senior senator in the 19th Congress, was elected on July 25, 2022 as the second female Senate president pro tempore.
On September 8, 2025, Panfilo Lacson was elected president pro tempore of the Senate, the oldest senator in history to assume the position.
List of Senate presidents pro tempore
All senators from 1941 onwards were elected at-large, with the whole Philippines as one constituency. Every president pro tempore of the Senate has been a member of a political party or faction; the number affiliated with each is:
- Nacionalista – 11; Liberal – 9; Lakas – 3; LAMMP – 2; NPC – 2; LDP – 1; PMP – 1; Independent – 3.
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Party/Coalition | Senate President | Legislature | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | ||||||
| Espiridion Guanco Senator for the 8th District (1874–1925) | July 21, 1919 | October 27, 1922 | Nacionalista | Manuel L. Quezon | 5th Legislature | ||
| Sergio Osmeña Senator for the 10th District (1878–1961) | October 27, 1922 | July 16, 1934 | Nacionalista Unipersonalista | 6th Legislature | |||
| Nacionalista Consolidado | 7th Legislature | ||||||
| 8th Legislature | |||||||
| 9th Legislature | |||||||
| José Clarín Senator for the 11th District (1879–1935) | July 16, 1934 | June 2, 1935 | Nacionalista Democratico | 10th Legislature | |||
| José Avelino Senator for the 9th District (1890–1986) | June 2, 1935 | November 15, 1935 | Nacionalista Democratico | ||||
| Senate abolished (November 15, 1935 – June 9, 1945) | |||||||
| Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956) | June 9, 1945 | May 28, 1946 | Nacionalista (until 1946) | Manuel Roxas | 1st Commonwealth Congress | ||
| Liberal (from 1946) | |||||||
| Melecio Arranz (1888–1966) | May 28, 1946 | December 30, 1949 | Liberal | José Avelino | 2nd Commonwealth Congress | ||
| 1st Congress | |||||||
| Mariano Jesús Cuenco | |||||||
| Quintín Paredes (1884–1973) | January 31, 1950 | March 5, 1952 | Liberal | 2nd Congress | |||
| Esteban Abada (1896–1957) | March 5, 1952 | May 7, 1952 | Liberal | Quintín Paredes | |||
| Camilo Osías | |||||||
| Eulogio Rodriguez | |||||||
| Manuel Briones (1896–1957) | May 7, 1952 | April 17, 1953 | Nacionalista | ||||
| Jose Zulueta (1889–1972) | April 17, 1953 | April 30, 1953 | Liberal | Camilo Osías | |||
| Manuel Briones (1896–1957) | April 30, 1953 | December 30, 1957 | Nacionalista | ||||
| Jose Zulueta | |||||||
| Eulogio Rodriguez | |||||||
| 3rd Congress | |||||||
| Fernando Lopez (1904–1993) | January 27, 1958 | December 30, 1965 | Nacionalista | 4th Congress | |||
| 5th Congress | |||||||
| Ferdinand Marcos | |||||||
| Lorenzo Sumulong (1905–1997) | January 17, 1966 | January 26, 1967 | Nacionalista | Arturo Tolentino | 6th Congress | ||
| Camilo Osías (1889–1976) | January 26, 1967 | December 30, 1967 | Liberal | Gil Puyat | |||
| Jose Roy (1904–1986) | January 22, 1968 | January 17, 1973 | Nacionalista | ||||
| 7th Congress | |||||||
| Senate abolished (January 17, 1973 – July 27, 1987) | |||||||
| Teofisto Guingona Jr. (born 1928) | July 27, 1987 | July 23, 1990 | Liberal | Jovito Salonga | 8th Congress | ||
| Sotero Laurel (1918–2009) | July 23, 1990 | January 18, 1992 | Nacionalista | ||||
| Ernesto Maceda (1935–2016) | January 18, 1992 | January 18, 1993 | NPC | Neptali Gonzales | |||
| 9th Congress | |||||||
| Teofisto Guingona Jr. (born 1928) | January 18, 1993 | July 6, 1993 | Lakas | Edgardo Angara | |||
| Vacant (July 6, 1993 – July 26, 1993) | |||||||
| Leticia Ramos-Shahani (1929–2017) | July 26, 1993 | October 10, 1996 | Lakas | ||||
| 10th Congress | |||||||
| Neptali Gonzales | |||||||
| Blas Ople (1927–2003) | October 10, 1996 | July 26, 1999 | LDP (until 1997) | Ernesto Maceda | |||
| LAMMP (from 1997) | |||||||
| Neptali Gonzales | |||||||
| Marcelo Fernan | 11th Congress | ||||||
| John Henry Osmeña (1935–2021) | July 26, 1999 | April 13, 2000 | LAMP | Blas Ople | |||
| Blas Ople (1927–2003) | April 13, 2000 | June 30, 2001 | LAMP | Franklin Drilon | |||
| Nene Pimentel | |||||||
| Manny Villar (born 1949) | July 23, 2001 | August 12, 2002 | Independent | Franklin Drilon | 12th Congress | ||
| Juan Flavier (1935–2014) | August 12, 2002 | June 30, 2007 | Lakas | ||||
| 13th Congress | |||||||
| Manny Villar | |||||||
| Jinggoy Estrada (born 1963) | July 23, 2007 | June 30, 2013 | PMP | 14th Congress | |||
| Juan Ponce Enrile | |||||||
| 15th Congress | |||||||
| Jinggoy Estrada (acting) | |||||||
| Ralph Recto (born 1964) | July 22, 2013 | June 30, 2016 | Liberal | Franklin Drilon | 16th Congress | ||
| Franklin Drilon (born 1945) | July 25, 2016 | February 27, 2017 | Liberal | Koko Pimentel | 17th Congress | ||
| Ralph Recto (born 1964) | February 27, 2017 | June 29, 2022 | Liberal (until 2018) | ||||
| Tito Sotto | |||||||
| Nacionalista (from 2018) | |||||||
| 18th Congress | |||||||
| Juan Miguel Zubiri (born 1969) | June 29, 2022 | July 25, 2022 | Independent | ||||
| None | |||||||
| 19th Congress | |||||||
| Loren Legarda (born 1960) | July 25, 2022 | May 20, 2024 | NPC | Migz Zubiri | |||
| Jinggoy Estrada (born 1963) | May 20, 2024 | September 8, 2025 | PMP | Francis Escudero | |||
| 20th Congress | |||||||
| Panfilo Lacson (born 1948) | September 8, 2025 | Incumbent | Independent | Tito Sotto | |||
Unverified or uncertain tenures
Sources claim that at least two senators served as president pro tempore of the Senate for uncertain periods during the Senate presidency of Manuel L. Quezon. It is unclear whether Rafael Palma or Francisco Enage held the position in an official capacity or served in an acting capacity during Sergio Osmeña’s tenure as Senate president pro tempore.
| Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Party/Coalition | Senate President | Legislature | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Palma Senator for the 4th District (1874–1939) | c. 1921 – c. 1922 | Nacionalista | Manuel L. Quezon | 5th Legislature | ||
| Francisco Enage Senator for the 9th District (1878–1959) | November 20, 1923 – c. 1925 | Nacionalista Colectivista | 6th Legislature | |||
Timeline
Presidents pro tempore who later served as Senate president
| President pro tempore | Senate president served under | Year(s) served | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| José Avelino | Manuel Quezon | 1935 | Elected Senate president in 1946 |
| Quintín Paredes | Mariano Jesús Cuenco | 1950–1952 | Elected Senate president in 1952 |
| Ernesto Maceda | Neptali Gonzales | 1992–1993 | Elected Senate president in 1996 |
| Blas Ople | Ernesto Maceda Neptali Gonzales Marcelo Fernan | 1996–1999 | Designated acting Senate president in June 1999 Elected Senate president in July 1999 |
| Manny Villar | Franklin Drilon | 2001–2002 | Elected Senate president in 2006 |
| Juan Miguel Zubiri | Tito Sotto | 2022 | Designated president pro tempore in June 2022 Elected Senate president in July 2022 |
Notes
- Includes the tenures of Elpidio Quirino from 1945 to 1946 and Ralph Recto from 2018 to 2022.
- Sergio Osmeña served as president pro tempore of the Senate under the Unipersonalista faction of the Nacionalista Party from 1922 to 1925. José Clarín (1934–1935) and José Avelino (1935) were later elected to the position under the Democratico faction.
- Includes the tenures of Elpidio Quirino in 1946, Teofisto Guingona Jr. from 1987 to 1990, and Ralph Recto from 2013 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018.
- Includes the tenure of Teofisto Guingona Jr. in 1993.
- Includes the tenure of Blas Ople from 1997 to 1999 and 2000 to 2001.
- Includes the tenure of Blas Ople from 1996 to 1997.
- The ratification of the 1973 Constitution abolished the Senate, and a unicameral legislature was established, later known as the Batasang Pambansa.
- Position vacant after Teofisto Guingona Jr.'s resignation as senator following his appointment as executive secretary by president Fidel V. Ramos.
- Zubiri was designated Senate president pro tempore during the Senate’s adjournment sine die, serving from the day before Tito Sotto’s term as senator ended on June 30 until his formal election as Senate president at the opening of the 19th Congress in July.
- Later served as president pro tempore from 2000 to 2001 after his Senate presidency to Franklin Drilon and Nene Pimentel.
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