Bato 'considering' to waive salary, allowances -JV Ejercito

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is now considering declining his salaries and allowances while he remains absent in the upper chamber, Senate Deputy Majority Leader and Ethics committee chairperson JV Ejercito said Tuesday. 

Ejercito made the confirmation after the Senate committee on ethics and privileges convened on Tuesday morning to process pending complaints on a first-in, first-out basis. 

“I think meron ng ano (there already is), they're just waiting for the final decision. They're already considering. So, ‘yun ang magandang balita (that’s the good news),” the senator told reporters in an ambush interview. 

Asked what Dela Rosa’s camp is considering, Ejercito said, “Whether to waive the salaries and the allowances as I recommended.”

Last week, Ejercito appealed to Dela Rosa to voluntarily forgo his Senate salary and allowances for the time being while he remains absent.

He also reiterated that the Senate has no existing “no work, no pay” policy, so the rules have to be amended first to deal with senators’ absences. 

Dela Rosa has not made any public appearance and has not attended any session at the Senate since November 2025, amid claims that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest against him over his links to the controversial war on drugs. 

Ejercito said he is hopeful that there will be a “positive development” in the case of Dela Rosa.

“We don't know how to get in touch with him. Kaya lang, meron namang parating na mukhang pinag-uusapan na nila ng kanyang kampo. Hopefully, magkaroon na ng positive development by next week,” he said. 

(We don't know how to get in touch with him. However, we received information that it seems his camp is already discussing the matter. Hopefully, there will be a positive development by next week.) 

Should Dela Rosa heed the call, Ejercito said it may be a ground for dismissing the ethics complaint filed against him. 

Civil society group “Wag Kang KuCorrupt” filed the ethics complaint against the absentee senator in February 2026, urging the Senate committee to conduct a formal inquiry into the matter, determine whether there has been a violation of Senate rules and ethical standards, and impose appropriate sanctions if warranted. —AOL, GMA News