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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
February 11, 2026 | 12:00am
Senate President Vicente Sotto III presides over the plenary session at the Senate on February 10, 2026.
Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has stopped communicating with allied senators following the minority bloc’s recent attempt to oust Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
“I haven’t talked to any senators about term sharing. In fact, I don’t talk to senators because I notice when someone talks to me, or helps me, or even says hello to me, that person is being harassed by the administration – filing cases, threatening, harassing,” Duterte said in a chance interview in Zamboanga City.
“I don’t talk to people just to save them from the wrath of the administration. The same goes for senators,” she added.
The Senate majority bloc had averted the coup attempt through a reported “power-sharing” deal that may see Sen. Loren Legarda pick up the gavel “in the near future,” setting up a historic first for a female legislator in the upper chamber.
Based on reports, the minority had courted Legarda to get the numbers to oust Sotto and Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson.
Members of the minority bloc are Senators Francis Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Alan Peter Cayetano, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Go and Ronald dela Rosa, who has been skipping Senate sessions since Nov. 11.
Duterte was mum on whether the ouster move in the Senate was linked to the new impeachment case against her.
A third impeachment complaint has been filed against her, this time by religious groups and lawyers demanding accountability for her unliquidated P612.5 million in confidential funds.
The first two petitions were filed by the Makabayan bloc and civil society group Tindig Pilipinas.
