MANILA, Philippines - Senator Franklin Drilon was voted Senate President, earning 17 votes at the opening session of the 16th Congress on Monday.
In his acceptance speech, Drilon said the Senate is making history in the 16h Congress, adding that the number of senators below 50 would ensure that issues involving women and younger generation would be given more focus and consideration.
Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, meanwhile, earned six votes from the opposition bloc.
Drilon was nominated by newly elected senators Sonny Angara and Grace Poe-Llamanzares.
"Senator Drilon is a lawmaker's lawmaker," Angara said, enumerating Drilon's accomplishment as a government official.
Neophyte senators Nancy Binay and JV Ejercito Estrada, representing the minority, nominated Enrile.