The Senate ethics panel is giving Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa a formal opportunity to weigh in on a proposed rule change that would strip senators of their pay for missing sessions — a measure triggered in part by his own prolonged disappearance from the chamber.
Ethics committee chair Sen. JV Ejercito confirmed Monday, May 4, that the panel has formally requested Dela Rosa’s comments on the proposed amendment, which would introduce a “no work, no pay” mechanism currently absent from Senate rules. The request came after the committee convened to address nine pending ethics complaints, resolving four of them.
Ejercito was direct about the connection between the proposal and Dela Rosa’s case: the rule amendment is linked to a complaint specifically targeting the senator’s attendance record.
As of Monday, no reply had come. “Ah, wala pa eh,” Ejercito said when asked whether Dela Rosa had responded.
Clarifying the nature of the request, Ejercito told reporters: “This is not yet [the] specific ethics complaint response [being asked] from Senator Dela Rosa. The ethics committee asked him to comment on the rule amendment proposal because it concerns a complaint filed against him as well.”
Dela Rosa has been absent from the Senate since November. Over the first regular session of the 20th Congress — spanning July 28, 2025, to March 18, 2026 — he racked up 31 absences out of 58 session days, making him the chamber’s top absentee and costing him nearly all his committee seats. Despite this, he has continued drawing a monthly salary ranging from P237,000 to P334,000, plus allowances, since no existing Senate rule allows pay to be withheld for non-attendance.
Ejercito has acknowledged that gap in the rules, noting it would result in absenteeism complaints being dismissed as a matter of course. Changing the policy requires a plenary vote — a process that could now move forward after congressional sessions resumed Monday.
“As a colleague, I believe it is only fair that ‘no work, no pay’ applies to everyone’s salary and allowances,” Ejercito said.
Senate President Tito Sotto separately indicated he would push the committee to compel Dela Rosa to formally explain his absences. “Isa-suggest ko na hingan si Senador Bato ng explanasyon — kumbaga, show cause why we should not follow or give in to the complaints,” Sotto told reporters, while acknowledging he can only recommend action since he does not chair the panel.
Dela Rosa, who served as national police chief under former President Rodrigo Duterte, dropped out of public view following reports in late 2025 that the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant against him. He has been identified by the ICC as a co-perpetrator in the crimes against humanity case involving Duterte.
Among the four ethics complaints dismissed Monday were those that failed to meet basic requirements of form and substance — including one filed against Ejercito himself for allegedly sitting on the complaint against Sen. Chiz Escudero. Ejercito said he recused himself from that discussion, with Sen. Francis Pangilinan presiding over the vote in his absence.
The Escudero complaint — involving a P30-million campaign donation he received in 2022 from Lawrence Lubiano, a contractor flagged for flood-control projects — remains active. Ejercito declined to identify the respondents in the other pending cases, citing concerns about sensationalizing the proceedings.
