Dela Rosa's critics may file ethics rap to hold him accountable for absences – Sotto

Critics of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa may file an ethics complaint against the lawmaker if they want to hold him accountable over his continued absence in the Senate’s plenary sessions, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on Tuesday.

In an ambush interview on Tuesday, Sotto III affirmed that the “no work, no pay” principle does not apply to legislators including dela Rosa, who has been skipping Senate sessions since November 11.

“Hindi. Walang ganoong rules sa mga legislators. (There is no such rules for legislators.) Any of our rules are rooted in the Constitution,” Sotto told reporters.

“Kung may mga kababayan tayo na gusto tanungin o gustong panagutin ang isang legislator, mag-file sila ng ethics complaint. Yan ang pinakamagandang remedyo para matalakay natin yan,” he added.

(If there are Filipinos who want to ask or hold a legislator accountable, they should file an ethics complaint. That would be the best remedy.)

GMA News Online has reached out to dela Rosa’s camp for comment on Sotto’s statement and will publish it once available.

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

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

It may be recalled that Gatchalian, chair of 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).

“Napakaraming congressman na gumagawa niyan dati, ba’t di kine-question? Bakit Senate ang napag-iinitan sa two to three weeks na hindi pumapasok?” Sotto said.

(There are many other congressmen who do this. Why is the Senate being questioned for an absence of two to three weeks?)

“Ganun talaga, kahit si Senator De Lima at Senator Trillanes nung nakulong, tuloy pa rin ang function ng opisina nila,” he added.

(The same rule applied to Senators [Leila] De Lima and [Antonio] Trillanes [IV] when they were detained, their office continued to function.)

Sotto said dela Rosa has yet to personally communicate with him. He added that the senator’s office remains operational and will not suffer from budget cuts due to his absence.

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

Earlier, Sotto called out Dela Rosa for failing to defend the proposed 2026 budget of key security agencies due to his continued absence, saying he would look into possible sanctions for such prolonged non-attendance.

Senators and representatives in the Philippines earn salaries of P273,278 to P312,902 per month. This increases to P325,807 to P374,678 should they be appointed to a higher position, such as Senate President and House Speaker.

Assurance of due process

For Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, the national government should offer an assurance to dela Rosa that he will undergo proper due process amid the ICC arrest warrant.

“Sa personal ko lang, ang gobyerno dapat i-assure si Sen. Bato na may proseso, di ba? Kasi kung sasabihin anytime pwede ka bitbitin at dalhin sa ibang bansa – hindi ko sinasabi na option sa lahat na huwag magpakita – but when your life and liberty is threatened, you really think of options. Yun ang option nya,” Cayetano said in a separate interview.

(For me, the government should assure him he will undergo due process. Because if you were told that you may be arrested and detained abroad any time, you’ll think of options, right? I’m not saying that being absent is an option – but when your life and liberty is threatened, you really think of options. That was his option.)

“Rather than pag-initan na bakit wala ka dito, ang question bakit walang assurance na protektahan ang karapatan mo?” he added.

(Rather than asking him why he is not here, the question should be: why is the government not assuring him that his rights will be protected?)

Beating Lacson’s record

Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said dela Rosa shared a joke in the senators’ Viber group chat about his absence.

“Noong na-Viber chat group chat kami, kinakamusta ko. Sabi nya ibe-break niya raw ang record ko sa pagtatago. That is his decision kung ayaw nya i-present ang sarili niya,” Lacson said, adding that he has yet to communicate with dela Rosa again.

(I asked him on our group chat how he’s doing. He said he would break my record when I went into hiding before. If he doesn’t want to present himself, that is his decision.

“I will leave him to it. I can’t advise him because I was there. Been there, done that,” he added.

Their last chat was during the Senate’s debates on the 2026 national budget.

It may be recalled that Lacson went into hiding in 2010, days before being charged with murder for his alleged involvement in the killings of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000. — JMA, GMA Integrated News