Absentee Bato loses ‘almost all’ Senate panel posts

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has lost his membership in almost all of the Senate committees he was part of amid his prolonged absence in the upper chamber. 

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III confirmed that the absentee senator has been removed from “almost all” of his committee memberships, noting that replacements will be elected soon in other committees where he is still a member of. 

“We are simply following Senate rules. Therefore, the committees that not have met recently retains his membership,” Sotto said. 

Asked if Dela Rosa’s removal was due to his prolonged absence, the Senate President said, “Senate rules on number of non-attendance of a member in a committee.”

During the plenary session on Wednesday, Dela Rosa was formally replaced by Senator Joel Villanueva as member of the Senate committee on justice and human rights.

Last week, Dela Rosa lost his membership in the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, with Senator Robin Padilla replacing him. 

To recall, Dela Rosa has not made any public appearance and has not attended any session at the Senate since November 11, 2025. 

His absences began after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla alleged that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant of arrest against him over the bloody war on drugs. 

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor later on identified Dela Rosa as one of the alleged co-perpetrators of former president Rodrigo Duterte in his crimes against humanity case. 

On Wednesday, civil society group “Wag Kang KuCorrupt” filed an ethics complaint against Dela Rosa over his continued absence in the Senate. — BM, GMA Integrated News