Tito Sotto turns over SP office to Sherwin Gatchalian

Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Monday formally turned over the Office of the Senate President to Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the incumbent leader of the upper chamber.

Gatchalian assumed the Senate presidency in June 2026, after the ouster of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. Before Cayetano, Sotto served as the chamber’s leader from September 2025 to May 2026 under the 20th Congress.

In June 2026, Sotto was elected as Senate President Pro Tempore during a special session.

Based on the photos, the Office of the Senate President was turned over with the fixtures intact and some furniture still in place.

LOOK: Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has formally turned over the Office of the Senate President to incumbent SP Sherwin Gatchalian. 📸 contributed photos @gmanews @gmanewsbreaking https://t.co/2JhsHQKG0Z

— Giselle Ombay (@giselleombay_) October 12, 2026

Last week, Sotto’s staff were caught by surprise when the vacated office of detained Senator Jinggoy Estrada, the former Senate President Pro Tempore, was seen bare and stripped of furniture, sockets, and tiles.

The room was left bare with no furniture such as tables and chairs, and there were even exposed and hanging electrical wires and wall sockets removed.

Estrada’s office maintained that dismantling fixtures and other materials from a Senate office previously occupied by a senator is an “established and accepted practice within the institution.”

Representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman later inspected the office vacated by Estrada, according to Senate Secretary Renato Bantug.

Estrada is currently detained at the Quezon City jail after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ordered his arrest on non-bailable charges of plunder. — RSJ, GMA News