President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines facts for kids

The President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines is a very important leader in the Senate of the Philippines. Think of the Senate as a team of lawmakers. The main leader of this team is the President of the Senate.

The President pro tempore is like the assistant team captain. If the main President of the Senate is not there, the President pro tempore steps in to lead the meetings and make sure everything runs smoothly. This position is the second-highest role in the Philippine Senate.

The last person to hold this position was Jinggoy Estrada. As of July 23, 2025, the position is currently vacant.

Past Leaders: Senate Presidents pro tempore

This table shows the people who have served as the President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines.

No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office		Political Party		Legislature
			Started	Ended
1	Espiridion Guanco	Espiridion Guanco (1874–1925)	July 21 1919	October 27 1922		Nacionalista	5th Legislature
2	Sergio Osmeña	Sergio Osmeña (1878–1961)	October 27 1922	July 16 1934		Nacionalista Unipersonalista	6th Legislature
						Nacionalista	7th Legislature
							8th Legislature
							9th Legislature
3	José Clarín	José Clarín (1879–1935)	July 16 1934	June 2 1935		Nacionalista Democratico	10th Legislature
4	José Avelino	José Avelino (1890–1986)	June 2 1935	November 15 1935
The Senate was not active during this time (1935–1941)
5	Elpidio Quirino	Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	July 9 1945	May 25 1946		Liberal	1st Commonwealth Congress
6	Melecio Arranz	Melecio Arranz (1888–1966)	May 25 1946	December 30 1949			2nd Commonwealth Congress
							1st Congress
7	Quintín Paredes	Quintín Paredes (1884–1973)	January 31 1950	March 2 1952			2nd Congress
8	Esteban Abada	Esteban Abada (1896–1957)	March 2 1952	May 7 1952
9	Manuel Briones	Manuel Briones (1896–1954)	May 7 1952	April 17 1953		Nacionalista
10	José Zulueta	José Zulueta (1889–1972)	April 17 1953	April 30 1953		Liberal
(9)	Manuel Briones	Manuel Briones (1896–1954)	April 30 1953	December 10 1957		Nacionalista
							3rd Congress
11	Fernando Lopez	Fernando Lopez (1904–1993)	January 27 1958	December 17 1965			4th Congress
							5th Congress
12	Lorenzo Sumulong	Lorenzo Sumulong (1905–1997)	January 17 1966	January 26 1967			6th Congress
13	Jose Roy	Jose Roy (1904–1986)	January 26 1967	September 23 1972
							7th Congress
The Senate was not active during this time (1973–1987)
14	Teofisto Guingona Jr.	Teofisto Guingona Jr. (born 1928)	July 27 1987	July 23 1990		Liberal	8th Congress
15	Sotero Laurel	Sotero Laurel (1918–2009)	July 23 1990	January 18 1992		Nacionalista
16	Ernesto Maceda	Ernesto Maceda (1935–2016)	January 18 1992	January 18 1993		PDP–Laban
							9th Congress
(14)	Teofisto Guingona Jr.	Teofisto Guingona Jr. (born 1928)	January 18 1993	July 6 1993		Lakas
17	Leticia Ramos-Shahani	Leticia Ramos-Shahani (1929–2017)	July 6 1993	October 10 1996
							10th Congress
18	Blas Ople	Blas Ople (1927–2003)	October 10 1996	June 29 1999		LDP (until 1997)
						LAMMP
							11th Congress
19	John Henry Osmeña	John Henry Osmeña (1935–2021)	June 29 1999	July 12 2000
(18)	Blas Ople	Blas Ople (1927–2003)	July 12 2000	June 30 2001
20	Manny Villar	Manny Villar (born 1949)	July 23 2001	August 12 2002		Independent	12th Congress
21	Juan Flavier	Juan Flavier (1935–2014)	August 12 2002	June 30 2007		Lakas
							13th Congress
22	Jinggoy Estrada	Jinggoy Estrada (born 1963)	July 23 2007	June 30 2013		PMP	14th Congress
							15th Congress
23	Ralph Recto	Ralph Recto (born 1964)	July 22 2013	June 30 2016		Liberal	16th Congress
24	Franklin Drilon	Franklin Drilon (born 1945)	July 25 2016	February 27 2017			17th Congress
(23)	Ralph Recto	Ralph Recto (born 1964)	February 27 2017	June 29 2022		Liberal (until 2018)
						Nacionalista
							18th Congress
25	Migz Zubiri	Migz Zubiri (born 1969)	June 29 2022	July 25 2022		Independent
26	Loren Legarda	Loren Legarda (born 1960)	July 25 2022	May 20 2024		NPC	19th Congress
(22)	Jinggoy Estrada	Jinggoy Estrada (born 1963)	May 20 2024	June 30 2025		PMP