Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero takes his oath as the new Senate President on May 20, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA – Senate President Francis Escudero was officially elected by acclamation on Monday, with none of his colleagues opposing or contesting. 

Only Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III and his deputy Sen. Risa Hontiveros had abstained when Escudero was elected to replace Sen. Migz Zubiri as the chamber’s leader. 

This means as far as the Senate's records are concerned, Escudero got the position, unopposed by any member of the Senate. 

The official election by acclamation, as recorded in the Senate's Journal, formalizes the results of the signature gathering campaign which Escudero said he  only started last Thursday and finished by Sunday night.  

Escudero said during this time, there were concerns among his colleagues about the past Senate leadership. 

But the Senate’s new leaders are opting to keep the circumstances of their ascent to themselves for the sake of unity.

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Meanwhile, Sen. Joel Villanueva said their 9-strong bloc composed of Zubiri, Senators Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Loren Legarda would stick together.

This leaves 15 out of 24 senators for Escudero.

These include Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Tolentino, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Ronald dela Rosa, Christopher Lawrence Go, Lito Lapid, Imee Marcos, Robinhood Padilla, Grace Poe, Bong Revilla, Raffy Tulfo, Cynthia Villar, and Mark Villar.

Escudero had said 15 senators signed individual resolutions of support for his Senate presidency.