Press Release
July 22, 2019

Nomination of Sen. Vicente C. Sotto III as Senate President
Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri
Opening of the 18th Congress
22 July 2019

Following his stellar performance as Senate President in the 17th Congress, it is my privilege to nominate Senator Vicente C. Sotto III to once again assume the position of Senate President for the 18th Congress. One of our most esteemed statesmen today, Sen. Sotto has had a long and accomplished legislative career that has been marked by numerous elections as both Minority and Majority Leader, prior to his Senate Presidency. No one is more familiar with the ways of the Senate than he is. Time and again, his colleagues have bestowed upon him their faith in his capabilities as a leader. Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in doing the same.

It has been an astounding twenty-seven years since the Filipino people first entrusted Sen. Sotto to be their champion in the Senate, and since then he has shown hisunfaltering commitment to return that trust in the form of solid legislative moves to uplift the lives of the people. But some of the landmark laws that he steered into passage are the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2012, the Philippine Fisheries Code, the Rural Farms School Act, the Children's Emergency Relief and Protection Act, the Anti-Hazing Law, and the MasustansyangPagkain Para saBatang Pilipino Act--laws that respond to problems across sectors, directing the nation toward a future where Filipino children will never know hunger, poverty, violence, and drugs.

Under Sen. Sotto's able and wise stewardship as Senate President, we ended the 17th Congress on a remarkably productive note, with four hundred and six (406) bills passed into law and one hundred and eighty-six (186) more in the pipeline. Having had the great honor of working closely with him in my capacity as Majority Leader, I can personally attest that were it not for his expert guidance, we would not have been able to achieve those numbers. Whatever challenges that we faced as a body, Sen. Sotto always showed us a way through. His approach to decision-making is both firm and understanding, fair to the interests not of any political party but of the Filipino people. His hard work and discipline as our steadfast leader has set a standard for the rest of us to live up to. His astute judgment has steered plenary sessions in the right direction, while still allowing for--and indeed encouraging!--healthy democratic debate among interpellators and sponsors. His deep respect for the proceedings of the Senate has spurred him to keep a perfect record of attendance.

Sen. Sotto's legislative career speaks for itself, so I will say that on a more personal level, I believe he is the best man for this job. He is a great mentor, generous with his wealth of knowledge and experience. He is a man of great intellect, but also a man of great humor, knowing just how to break tension, form camaraderie, and keep a productive atmosphere on the floor. He is an accomplished artist with an intimate line of connection to the hearts of the Filipino people.

Sen. Vicente C. Sotto III is a workhorse, an institution in the Senate, a man of the people. And, I hope you all agree with me, he is the Senate President we need for this Congress.

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