Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has return as Senate President after replacing Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Monday afternoon made the motion in the plenary to declare the position of the Senate president vacant, which was approved by Escudero.

Zubiri then nominated Sotto to the position, which was seconded by Senator Loren Legarda.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada approved the motion after no one objected in the 24-member chamber.

Sotto said that 15 senators already signified their support for him.

He said Zubiri will “most likely” be the next majority leader, replacing Senator Joel Villanueva. Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson may replace Senator Jinggoy Estrada as Senate president pro tempore.

Sotto said that he already talked to Escudero prior to the plenary session scheduled this afternoon, and noted that the latter may resign as Senate president.