Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has been stripped of nearly all his committee assignments in the Senate following a series of unexplained absences, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III confirmed on Wednesday.
The latest change saw Minority Sen. Joel Villanueva assume dela Rosa’s seat at the Senate committee on justice and human rights. Earlier, Sen. Robin Padilla had also taken over his role in the Senate blue ribbon committee.
Asked whether dela Rosa still holds any committee posts, Sotto replied, “Yes almost all,” in a Viber message. He noted that a replacement for the senator’s remaining committee membership has yet to be chosen. “We are simply following Senate rules. Therefore, the committees that have not met recently retain his membership,” he added.
Under Section 23 of Rule XI of the Senate’s rules on meetings and reports, “unexplained absences in five (5) successive committee meetings may operate to relinquish regular membership therein.” The provision governs participation in committee proceedings but does not explicitly address repeated non-attendance in plenary sessions.
Sotto pointed out that while the rules are clear regarding committee meetings, they do not provide sanctions for continued absence during plenary. He referenced a proposal by Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson to revisit existing guidelines and “incorporate situations like that of Senator Bato.” The matter has not yet been taken up by the committee on ethics.
Dela Rosa has not been seen in the Senate since reports surfaced in November that the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest order against him in connection with the crimes against humanity case involving former President Rodrigo Duterte. During Duterte’s administration, dela Rosa served as chief of the Philippine National Police and was named as a co-perpetrator in the government’s anti-drug campaign.
Separate from the internal reshuffling of committee memberships, a civil society organization, “Wag Kang KuCorrupt,” has filed an ethics complaint against the senator over his continued absence from legislative duties.
