Senate ethics panel to begin action on complaints vs senators on March 18

The Senate committee on ethics and privileges is set to reconvene on March 18 to start the vetting process on the six complaints filed against incumbent senators, Senator JV Ejercito said Wednesday. 

This, after the committee held a closed-door meeting earlier in the day to adopt its procedural rules to ensure the proper handling of complaints lodged.

Present in the executive session, which was presided over by Ejercito, were Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, and Senators Risa Hontiveros, Imee Marcos, Kiko Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, and Rodante Marcoleta.

“We already concluded our second meeting actually wherein we are more on procedural. We cannot act yet on any of the cases, not unless the committee has adopted the rules and then it will be up for publication,” Ejercito said in a press conference.

“Five days after then that's the only time that the committee can act on the cases, the docketed cases. But after we adopted the rules and the committee secretary was directed for the publication of the said rules, we already distributed the copies of the docketed cases among the committee members for them to be able to review already in advance,” he added. 

The committee secretariat is expected to consolidate all proposed revisions and circulate a clean copy of the rules to committee members by Thursday, March 5.

The finalized document will then be filed for publication 24 hours after receipt by the members. 

After this, the committee will reconvene on March 18 to start the process of determining whether the complaints it has received complied with the required form and substance pursuant to the committee rules.

If a complaint is found to have complied with the required form and substance, a copy will be transmitted to the respondent within five days from such determination. 

The panel will then conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether substantial credible evidence exists. If there is something found, the committee will decide on the appropriate action through a vote, which may include proceeding to an adjudicatory hearing.

If there is none found, the complaint will be dismissed.

“I think this is the first time that the Ethics committee had this much complaints against senators. Dati pa isa-isa, dalawa, pero ngayon ho anim (before there’s only a few but now there are six), and that includes the chair, yours truly, kasama rin po ako doon (I’m included there),” Ejercito said. 

“Nag-aayos na rin po kami ng inhibition (we’re processing the inhibition), ‘yung mga rules (the rules) on how to go about those things,” he added. 

Ejercito committed that he himself will inhibit from the proceedings on the complaint filed against him. 

“Definitely, that's a given. Marami sa amin actually. ‘Di naman marami, pero a number of us. Kung may kaso, then we will definitely na magi-inhibit,” he said. 

(Definitely, that's a given. A number of us will inhibit. If there’s a case filed against us, we will definitely inhibit.) 

Last month, an ethics complaint was filed against Ejercito over gross neglect of constitutional duty for supposedly sitting on the complaint against Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero in connection with the P30-million campaign donation he received in 2022 from a contractor.

The ethics complaint against Escudero was filed in October 2025.

Other incumbent senators who face ethics complaints include Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Risa Hontiveros. —AOL, GMA Integrated News