LOOK: Sotto turns over furnished office to Gatchalian amid office controversy

MANILA (UPDATED) — Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente Sotto III on Monday turned over his office to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian with furniture, cabinets and lighting fixtures still in place.

This comes after Sotto’s new office was found bare, with its tiles and electrical fixtures removed by its previous occupant, Senator Jinggoy Estrada.

Gatchalian expressed his gratitude to Sotto for how he left the office.

“Nagpapasalamat ako kay Senator Sotto dahil may personal chair niya, sofa, iniwan niya doon so ready to move in ako… hindi ko na aasikasuhin yung renovation,” Gatchalian said in an ambush interview. 

“That should be the standard respect and courtesy,” he added. 

Estrada earlier maintained that the move was “standard procedure,” claiming he had also received the office bare from former Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson.

Lacson, however, disputed Estrada’s claim, presenting photos from 2022 showing that he had turned over the office with its tiles and electrical fixtures still intact.

The office turnover followed the Senate leadership changes last June, when Sotto became Senate President Pro Tempore and Gatchalian assumed the Senate presidency.

ABS-CBN News has reached out to Sotto for further comment but has yet to receive a response.