Absentee ‘Bato’ to skip defense of proposed DND budget

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday said he will take on the role of defending the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Defense and its attached agencies, due to the continued absence of its supposed sponsor, Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa.

In an ambush interview, Gatchalian, chair of the Senate finance committee, said that he received a message from the staff of Dela Rosa about the latter’s expected absence in Thursday’s session, the scheduled plenary deliberation of the DND budget.

“Nagpadala si Senator Bato ng message na hindi siya makakapunta so ako ang mag-defend (Senator Bato sent a message that he will not be able to attend the session so I will be the one to defend the DND budget),” Gatchalian said.

“Wala siyang reason na binigay (He did not provide any reason for his absence),” he told reporters.

The Senate is reportedly scheduled to wrap up its agency-level discussion of the proposed 2026 spending bill, with the DND budget up for deliberations.

Dela Rosa is the designated budget sponsor for DND and other executive offices, such as the Dangerous Drugs Board, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the National Security Council. 

Asked if he thinks the reason for Dela Rosa’s continued absence in the session was due to lingering reports of a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him, Gatchalian said, “I cannot speculate.”

Earlier this month, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla claimed that the ICC has already issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa. 

Since then, Dela Rosa has not been seen at the Senate and has not attended any of the sessions.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), however, said that no red notice from ICC has been received yet by the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), meanwhile, said the Philippines will implement an arrest warrant against dela Rosa if the ICC has indeed issued it.—MCG, GMA Integrated News