Metro Manila, Philippines – Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said he hopes Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa will show up this weekend for the bicameral conference committee meeting between the Senate and House of Representatives that will finalize next year’s budget.
“Sana, sana. Conferee siya. So I hope na magka time siya na mag-attend ng bicam,” Gatchalian said in an online media interview on Friday, Dec. 12.
[Translation: I hope so, I really hope so. He’s a conferee, so I hope he finds the time to attend the bicam.]
Dela Rosa has been absent from Senate sessions for the past month amid talks that the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant of arrest against him over alleged extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Philippine National Police chief under detained former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Despite his month-long absence, Dela Rosa is automatically a member of the Senate contingent to the bicam as a vice chairman of the finance committee. He skipped defending the budget of the Department of National Defense, leaving the task to Gatchalian.
Gatchalian said his staff has been coordinating with Dela Rosa’s staff, but the two senators have not spoken directly.
Online attendance is not an option, Gatchalian said, as bicam rules require physical presence.
Should Dela Rosa miss the meetings, Gatchalian admitted he has not thought about the next steps, noting that there is nothing in the rules about the absence of a member.
NewsWatch Plus has reached out to Dela Rosa regarding his attendance.
Earlier this week, Senator Jinggoy Estrada – who, like Dela Rosa, is a member of the minority bloc – withdrew from the Senate contingent.
Gatchalian said Estrada did not provide any reason for his decision.
He also does not see any problem with the reduced number of Senate members in the bicam, noting that historically, the Senate contingent has varied in size and does not necessarily match the number sent by the House of Representatives.
“Wala naman kaming rule na papalitan… si Senator Jinggoy hindi na papalitan so as is na kami ngayon,” he said.
[Translation: We don’t have any rule requiring a replacement… Senator Jinggoy will not be replaced, so our contingent remains as is.]
Congress has committed to livestream the meetings this weekend in response to calls for transparency following the flood control corruption scandal. Closed-door meetings have long been called out over budget insertions that allowed lawmakers and other government officials to secure kickbacks from flood control and other government projects.
