Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero resigned from his post on Monday, September 8, after 15 of his colleagues backed a leadership change linked to questions over government flood control projects and one of his campaign’s biggest financiers.
Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who confirmed he had spoken directly with Escudero, said: “He agreed to step down.”
Sotto said the group elected Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as Senate president pro tempore, replacing Jinggoy Estrada, and Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri as majority leader, replacing Joel Villanueva.
The bloc of 15 senators behind the shake-up included Sotto, Lacson, Zubiri, Bam Aquino, Pia Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Win Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Kiko Pangilinan, Raffy Tulfo, Erwin Tulfo, Mark Villar, and Camille Villar.
Escudero’s removal follows reports that Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Incorporated, donated P30 million to his campaign. Lubiano’s company was identified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as one of the government’s top 15 contractors, ranking seventh in the number of awarded contracts.
The connection between Escudero’s political fundraising and the flood control projects under investigation fueled calls for him to step aside.
The episode also restores influence to Sotto, who had earlier challenged Escudero’s leadership at the opening of the 20th Congress on July 28. Sotto, first elected to the Senate in 1992, previously served as Senate president from 2018 to 2022. Although he lost his vice-presidential bid in 2022, he ran again in the 2025 midterm elections under the administration ticket, strengthening ties with the Marcos camp.
Escudero’s short-lived term as Senate president was marked by clashes with the House of Representatives. In July, he dismissed allegations that he orchestrated “multi-billion peso insertions” in the 2025 national budget, calling them a “demolition job” by House leaders.
He was also criticized for allegedly slowing down the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, where the Senate is constitutionally mandated to sit as the impeachment court.
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