What triggered the failed Senate coup against Tito Sotto?

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

February 6, 2026 | 4:15pm

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Tito Sotto narrowly kept his seat after a failed coup was thwarted by the majority—but what triggered the attempted ouster in the first place?

Sotto surmised that it was two things: the leaked draft report of the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) pinning down three minority senators and the removal of Sen. Imee Marcos from the powerful Committee on Foreign Relations.

“Ang trigger dito is the removal of Sen. Imee Marcos from the Committee on Foreign Relations. Isa yan,” Sotto said in a virtual press briefing on Friday.

(The trigger here is the removal of Sen. Imee Marcos from the Committee on Foreign Relations. It is one of the triggers.)

Marcos was recently removed from the powerful Foreign Relations Committee—a panel she famously used to interrogate the secretaries of her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., regarding the arrest and turnover of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court.

Powerful panels such as the Foreign Relations Committee are typically extended to the majority, which does not include the estranged presidential sister.

The Senate has recently signed a resolution condemning the Embassy of China for its statements against several public officials, including several lawmakers. With the exemption of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, all minority members declined to sign it—including Marcos.

Meanwhile, the BRC draft report recommended charges against minority senators Estrada and Joel Villanueva in relation to the flood control kickback scheme.

Sotto said that there had been a member of the minority who questioned him over the BRC report, asking why the report came out the way it did. The Senate President simply told them that the report was not final. However, there was no attempt to have him change the recommendation.

Last Wednesday, rumors of a coup began circulating rapidly online, with Sen. Loren Legarda set to become the first female Senate president, with the current minority senators rallying behind her.

Sotto was candid, saying that he was confident that the minority did not have the numbers to replace him.

Based on past experience, if a bloc wanted to unseat a current Senate president, they would have to secure those votes in writing. Once they secure at least 13 votes, they would directly yet privately approach the current Senate president and inform them of the impending change.

Most of the time, the outgoing Senate president would take it upon themselves to resign, Sotto said.

He does not recall there ever being a time when a motion was made to declare the Senate presidency vacant without the minimum votes required.

“If you say ‘I move that we declare the position of Senate President vacant’ or ‘I move that we declare all positions vacant’—actually that was the style before — ‘All positions vacant’. But if the majority does not vote on the floor, it is immediately finished. You will be humiliated.”

Sotto confirmed, however, that there are plans within the majority to install Legarda as the Senate president at some point during the administration.

This may come sometime in 2028, as Sotto said he wanted to oversee the 2027 national budget first.