Absentee senators exempt from ‘no work, no pay’ rule, says Win Gatchalian

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday expressed his belief that the “no work, no pay” principle does not apply to senators who fail to attend sessions.

Gatchalian made the assertion in response to media queries about the prolonged absence of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who has not reported for work since the Senate resumed session on November 11 following a month-long break.

“Sa pagkaalam ko, walang ganyan na set-up sa mga senators,” Gatchalian told reporters when asked if the rule applies to lawmakers in the same way it does to regular workers.

(As far as I know, there is no such setup for senators.)

But senators cannot skip their duties on a whim, Gatchalian clarified, especially during budget deliberations, when each lawmaker is assigned to defend the budgets of specific agencies.

According to Gatchalian, the "proper procedure" is for the absent senator to send the concerned committee a formal letter explaining why he or she cannot attend official functions.

“The Senate President should also receive a formal letter stating why you cannot attend. These formal letters are important because they will be the official reason for a senator’s absence,” he added.

Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate finance committee, had to stand in for Dela Rosa last week to defend the proposed 2026 budget of key security agencies such as the Department of National Defense (DND), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), and the National Security Council (NSC).

Dela Rosa’s absence began after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant of arrest against him in relation to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

According to Gatchalian, one of Dela Rosa’s staff members merely informed him during plenary debates that the latter would be absent from the deliberations on the 2026 budgets he was designated to sponsor.

Gatchalian said the issue of prolonged absences should be discussed among senators in a caucus.

“Mas maganda pag-usapan ‘yan sa caucus because I don’t believe na may ganitong issue na nangyari in the past,” he said.

(It’s better discussed in a caucus because I don’t think we’ve encountered an issue like this in the past.)

He added that the Senate has no existing policy governing continued absences of its members, unlike for Senate employees, who are subject to the “no work, no pay” rule.

“Depende kung anong category mo. But for daily wage earners, ‘no work, no pay’ talaga ang arrangement.

“I think iba ang application for legislators. As far as I know, there is no such rule for us because it is expected that if we don’t attend a session, we will send an excuse letter,” he explained.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III earlier called out Dela Rosa for failing to defend the proposed 2026 budget of key security agencies due to his continued absence.

Sotto said he would look into possible sanctions for such prolonged non-attendance.—MCG, GMA Integrated News