Metro Manila, Philippines – Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has begged off from his budget deliberation assignment on Thursday, Nov. 27, extending his two-week absence from the Senate since session resumed amid talk of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

In a chance interview on Wednesday, Senate finance committee chairman Win Gatchalian said Dela Rosa’s staff informed his office that the senator would not be attending for no particular reason.

Gatchalian said he will take over defending the budget of the Department of National Defense (DND), a task initially assigned to Dela Rosa as committee vice chairperson.

“Nagpaabot yung staff niya ng message sa amin na hindi siya makakapunta bukas,” Gatchalian said.

“So ako muna ang nirequest niya na mag-defend na being the chairman. So I’ll sit in tomorrow to defend the budget of the DND,” he added.

[Translation: His staff sent us a message saying he won’t be able to come tomorrow. So he requested me, as the chairman, to defend it. I’ll sit in tomorrow to defend the DND budget.]

Gatchalian said there is no penalty for Dela Rosa’s absence and that he can easily step in, having overseen the committee hearings.

Asked whether the absence could be related to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla’s statement earlier this month that the ICC had issued a warrant of arrest for Dela Rosa, Gatchalian said he refuses to speculate.

The warrant supposedly stems from Dela Rosa’s role in alleged extrajudicial killings as Philippine National Police chief during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently detained at the ICC facility in The Hague, Netherlands for charges of crimes against humanity for murder.

Dela Rosa has not been seen in the Senate since sessions resumed on Nov. 11, although he remains active on social media. No other government authority has confirmed the existence of an ICC warrant. The tribunal has also not made an announcement.