Majority Floor Leader of the Senate of the Philippines

Majority Floor Leader of the Senate of the Philippines
Lider ng Mayorya ng Senado ng Pilipinas
Incumbent Juan Miguel Zubiri since September 8, 2025
Style	The Honorable (Diplomatic)
Appointer	Elected by the Senate of the Philippines
Inaugural holder	Francisco Felipe Villanueva
Formation	October 16, 1916
Deputy	Deputy Majority Floor Leader of the Senate of the Philippines

The majority floor leader of the Senate of the Philippines (Filipino: Lider ng Mayorya ng Senado ng Pilipinas), or simply the Senate majority floor leader, is the leader elected by the political party or coalition of parties that holds the majority in the Senate of the Philippines.

By tradition, the Senate president or any presiding officer gives the majority leader priority in obtaining the floor and is also the traditional chairman of the Committee on Rules. The majority leader also manages the business of the majority bloc in the Senate.

The current Senate majority floor leader is Juan Miguel Zubiri.

Two deputy majority leaders serving concurrently assist the majority leader in his duties and assumes the latter's responsibilities when the majority leader is absent. JV Ejercito and Risa Hontiveros are serving as deputy majority leaders of the 20th Congress in the Senate.

History

1910s–1990s

Cipriano Primicias Sr. is the longest-serving majority floor leader in Senate history.

The position of floor leader representing the chamber as a whole was created in 1916 upon the establishment of the Philippine Senate. Francisco Felipe Villanueva of the Nacionalista Party was elected as the Senate’s first floor leader. From then until the first abolition of the Senate in 1935, the Nacionalista Party emerged as the ruling party in Congress, establishing a virtually dominant-party system in the Philippines. In 1931, Claro M. Recto became the lone minority member after distancing himself from his Nacionalista partymates, thus becoming the minority leader and creating the distinction of a majority floor leader. Benigno Aquino Sr. was the first senator elected to the role in this capacity, leading the majority bloc. Recto, previously a member of the Democrata Party, rejoined the Senate majority after switching to the Nacionalista Party by 1934 and was elected floor leader.

By the 1st Congress, after several Nacionalista members led by Manuel Roxas broke away from the party to run under its liberal wing for the 1946 elections, which later established the Liberal Party, a form of the two-party system emerged. Vicente Francisco led the Liberal majority bloc after the party won 9 of the 16 contested seats in the first postwar Senate election. The Nacionalistas regained their majority in the 3rd Congress, led by Cipriano Primicias Sr. as floor leader. He is the longest-serving Senate majority floor leader in history, with a total uninterrupted tenure of 7 years and 339 days. Arturo Tolentino served as the last majority floor leader of the Senate from 1970 until 1972, when the chamber was dissolved following president Ferdinand Marcos’s declaration of martial law.

The Senate was reestablished under the 1987 Constitution. Orlando Mercado became the leader of the majority bloc, now composed of multiple political parties forming an internal alliance rather than functioning as standalone parties. Teofisto Guingona Jr. succeeded Mercado in 1990, until he was replaced by Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) senator Alberto Romulo at the fifth regular session of the 8th Congress. The LDP became the majority party in the Senate by 1992, with member Francisco Tatad serving as majority leader from 1996. A coup ousted incumbent Senate president Ernesto Maceda in 1998, installing Neptali Gonzales in the position and Lakas–NUCD–UMDP senator Franklin Drilon as majority leader.

2000s–present

Tatad was reelected to the position in 2000 under Drilon’s Senate presidency. Loren Legarda became the first and only woman senator elected as majority floor leader in 2001. Legarda left the majority in 2004 after allying with the opposition coalition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino for her vice presidential bid against president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s running mate, senator Noli de Castro, and was replaced by Francis Pangilinan. The election of Juan Ponce Enrile as Senate president in November 2008 saw Pangilinan replaced by Juan Miguel Zubiri as majority leader, the youngest to be elected in Senate history. In the 15th Congress, Tito Sotto was elected to the position. He was notable for chairing the Committee on Rules which drafted the Senate’s rules on impeachment proceedings used during the trial of chief justice Renato Corona. Alan Peter Cayetano led the Senate majority in the 16th Congress, with Sotto returning to the position in 2016 until his election as Senate president in 2018 following a term-sharing agreement with Koko Pimentel.

Juan Miguel Zubiri was reelected as majority floor leader after eight years in 2018, becoming the first independent senator to serve in the position, and held the post until his election as Senate president at the start of the 19th Congress. Joel Villanueva then became Zubiri’s majority floor leader in 2022, resigning in 2024 when Zubiri stepped down as Senate president and was succeeded by Francis Escudero. Francis Tolentino subsequently served as the new majority leader until the end of his senatorial term in 2025. Villanueva aligned himself with Escudero’s majority after his reelection as Senate president, becoming majority leader at the start of the 20th Congress. Zubiri, who had previously served as majority leader during Tito Sotto’s first tenure as Senate president, reassumed the position on September 8, 2025, after Sotto was reelected to the Senate presidency following a leadership coup.

List of majority floor leaders

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party		Legislature
		Took office	Left office
	Francisco Felipe Viillanueva Senator for the 7th District (1867–1923)	October 16, 1916	June 3, 1919		Nacionalista	4th Legislature
	Francisco Enage Senator for the 9th District (1878–1958)	June 3, 1919	June 2, 1925		Nacionalista (until 1922)	5th Legislature
					Nacionalista Colectivista (from 1922)	6th Legislature
	Jose P. Laurel Senator for the 5th District (1891–1959)	June 2, 1925	June 2, 1931		Nacionalista	7th Legislature
						8th Legislature
	Benigno Aquino Sr. Senator for the 3rd District (1894–1947)	July 16, 1931	June 5, 1934		Nacionalista	9th Legislature
	Claro M. Recto Senator for the 5th District (1890–1960)	July 16, 1934	November 15, 1935		Nacionalista Democratico	10th Legislature
Senate abolished (November 15, 1935 – June 9, 1945)
	Melecio Arranz (1888–1966)	June 9, 1945	May 25, 1946		Nacionalista	1st Commonwealth Congress
	Vicente Francisco (1891–1974)	May 25, 1946	February 21, 1949		Liberal	2nd Commonwealth Congress
						1st Congress
	Tomas Cabili (1903–1957)	February 21, 1949	December 30, 1953		Liberal
						2nd Congress
	Cipriano Primicias Sr. (1901–1965)	January 25, 1954	December 30, 1961		Nacionalista	3rd Congress
						4th Congress
	Arturo Tolentino (1910–2004)	January 22, 1962	December 30, 1965		Nacionalista	5th Congress
	Jose Roy (1904–1986)	January 17, 1966	January 26, 1967		Nacionalista	6th Congress
	Rodolfo Ganzon (1922–2003)	January 26, 1967	December 30, 1969		Nacionalista
	Arturo Tolentino (1910–2004)	January 26, 1970	January 17, 1973		Nacionalista	7th Congress
Senate abolished (January 17, 1973 – July 27, 1987)
	Orly Mercado (born 1946)	July 27, 1987	October 31, 1989		Liberal	8th Congress
	Teofisto Guingona Jr. (born 1928)	July 23, 1990	July 22, 1991		Liberal
	Alberto Romulo (born 1933)	July 22, 1991	October 10, 1996		LDP
						9th Congress
	Francisco Tatad (born 1939)	October 10, 1996	January 26, 1998		LDP
						10th Congress
	Franklin Drilon (born 1945)	January 26, 1998	July 12, 2000		Lakas (until 1998)
					LAMMP (from 1998)	11th Congress
	Francisco Tatad (born 1939)	July 12, 2000	June 30, 2001		PRP
	Loren Legarda (born 1960)	July 23, 2001	June 3, 2002		Lakas	12th Congress
	Nene Pimentel (1933–2019)	June 3, 2002	July 23, 2002		PDP–Laban
	Loren Legarda (born 1960)	July 23, 2002	January 12, 2004		Lakas
	Kiko Pangilinan (born 1963)	January 12, 2004	November 17, 2008		Liberal
						13th Congress
						14th Congress
	Juan Miguel Zubiri (born 1969)	November 17, 2008	June 30, 2010		Lakas
	Tito Sotto (born 1948)	July 26, 2010	June 30, 2013		NPC	15th Congress
	Alan Peter Cayetano (born 1970)	July 23, 2013	June 30, 2016		Nacionalista	16th Congress
	Tito Sotto (born 1948)	July 25, 2016	May 21, 2018		NPC	17th Congress
	Juan Miguel Zubiri (born 1969)	May 21, 2018	June 29, 2022		Independent
						18th Congress
	Joel Villanueva (born 1975)	July 25, 2022	May 20, 2024		Independent	19th Congress
	Francis Tolentino (born 1960)	May 20, 2024	June 30, 2025		PDP (until 2024)
					PFP (from 2024)
	Joel Villanueva (born 1975)	July 28, 2025	September 8, 2025		Independent	20th Congress
	Juan Miguel Zubiri (born 1969)	September 8, 2025	Incumbent		Independent

List of deputy majority floor leaders

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term start		Party		Legislature
		Took office	Left office
	Mark Villar (born 1978)	August 2, 2022	June 30, 2025		Nacionalista	19th Congress
	JV Ejercito (born 1969)	August 2, 2022	May 20, 2024		NPC
		July 23, 2024	Incumbent
						20th Congress
	Rodante Marcoleta (born 1953)	July 30, 2025	September 8, 2025		Independent
	Risa Hontiveros (born 1966)	September 8, 2025	Incumbent		Akbayan

See also

• Minority Floor Leader of the Senate of the Philippines

External links

• Senate of the Philippines