Metro Manila, Philippines – The Senate leadership is now studying possible sanctions against Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, including withholding his salary, for his straight absences in the Senate since November, amid reports that the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant against him.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Dela Rosa’s situation was among the issues discussed in a meeting with Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, held at Trillanes’ request on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Trillanes earlier said he will file an ethics complaint against Dela Rosa in May if the senator continues to remain in hiding, noting that it would mark his sixth month of absence.
Lacson said the newly constituted Committee on Ethics and Privileges will handle the complaint, while he and Sotto have floated a possible course of action.
“More or less ‘yun ang isang suggestion na baka i-suspend or itigil ‘yung sweldo,” Lacson said.
“Sabi ko kay SP [Senate President] kanina, paaral natin mabuti kasi covered kami ng civil service law. Baka hindi uubra yung hindi mo pswelduhin yung senador kung walang basis. Pero tama rin si SP — we have our own rules, bound tayo ng ethics committee recommendation once ma-adopt sa plenary,” he said.
[Translation: More or less, one of the suggestions is to suspend or stop the payment of his salary. I told SP earlier that we need to study this carefully because we are covered by the civil service law, and it may not be possible to withhold a senator’s salary without a legal basis. But SP is also right—we have our own rules, and once the ethics committee’s recommendation is adopted in plenary, we are bound by it.]
Lacson clarified that although he is an ex-officio member of the ethics committee, he will not take part in any recommendation to sanction Dela Rosa.
“For one simple reason – I have no moral authority as I was in almost the same situation more than 15 years ago,” he said.
Lacson went into hiding in 2010 after being accused in the Dacer-Corbito murder case, for which he was later cleared.
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa has not appeared in the Senate since the 20th Congress resumed session on Nov. 11, just days after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the ICC had issued an arrest warrant against the senator.
The alleged warrant stems from Dela Rosa’s role in alleged extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Philippine National Police chief under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently detained by the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC has not confirmed the issuance of the warrant.
