Metro Manila, Philippines – Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa continues to receive his salary despite a three-week absence, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III confirmed, noting that lawmakers are not covered by any “no work, no pay” rule.
“Walang ganoong rules sa mga legislators e, in any of our rules or even in the Constitution,” Sotto told reporters on Tuesday, December 2.
[Translation: There are no such rules for legislators, whether in any of our internal rules or even in the Constitution.]
Asked if Dela Rosa is still being paid, Sotto replied: “Syempre. Allotted na yun e [Of course. That’s already allotted].”
The Senate leader said he does not see the need to amend the chamber’s rules to cover prolonged absences, adding that this has always been the practice in past Congresses. Instead, he said the public may file an ethics complaint if they wish to question a lawmaker’s conduct.
“Siguro kung may mga kababayan tayo na gusto tanungin itong ganyan ano and let’s say gustong panagutin ang isang legislator, magfile sila ng ethics complaint. Yun yung pinaka magandang remedyo,” he said.
[Translation: If there are citizens who want to raise issues like this and hold a legislator accountable, they should file an ethics complaint. That’s the best remedy.]
Sotto also took a swipe at his counterparts in the House of Representatives.
“Sa Congress nga merong isang buong taon hindi pumapasok e. wala naman silang ginagawa, wala ring umaangal e. Oh ito 2-3 weeks pa lang,” he said.
[Translation: “In Congress, there was even someone who didn’t show up for an entire year. They didn’t do anything about it, and no one complained. This one has only been two to three weeks.]
Dela Rosa has been absent since the Senate resumed its session on Nov. 11, just days after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant against the senator.
The warrant was allegedly over Dela Rosa’s role in extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Philippine National Police chief under former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is now detained by the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands.
No other authority or the ICC has confirmed the issuance of the warrant.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano defended his ally’s absence, saying Dela Rosa is merely exercising one of his options amid uncertainty caused by the supposed arrest warrant.
“Kung ikaw, threatened ang life and liberty mo, anong options ang gagawin mo [If your life and liberty were threatened, what options would you take]?” Cayetano asked.
“Y’ung gobyerno dapat ina-assure si Senator Bato na merong proseso… Rather than pag-initan siya na parang bakit wala dito, ang question, bakit walang assurance na poprotektahan ang karapatan niya,” he added.
[Translation: The government should be assuring Senator Bato that due process will be followed… Rather than singling him out for not being here, the real question is why there are no assurances that his rights will be protected.]
Duterte allies have criticized the Marcos administration for surrendering the former president to the ICC without presenting him before Philippine judicial authorities, but the executive maintains the process was justified.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, also a former PNP chief, shared a light moment between him and Dela Rosa in their online group chat about two weeks ago.
“Ang biro niya lang sa ‘kin, ‘Sir ibreak ko yung record mo sa pagtatago.’ Tapos may haha,” Lacson shared.
[Translation: His joke to me, ‘Sir, I’ll break your record for hiding.’ Then he added a ‘haha’.]
Lacson himself went into hiding in 2010 after he was accused in the Dacer-Corbito murder case, for which he was eventually cleared.
