Address absenteeism, Ejercito urges senators
The Senate committee on ethics has taken receipt of a complaint against Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa for his continued absence from the upper chamber, although the panel may not take up the matter because there is still no rule on official absenteeism.
At the same time, Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, the ethics panel’s chair, called on senators to agree on absenteeism rules to address the complaint against Dela Rosa.
Ejercito earlier said that the Senate does not have a “no work, no pay” rule that can be applied to Dela Rosa’s case, so an ethics complaint filed against him may be junked on a technicality, a remark which drew flak online.
However, he clarified that: “I am not saying that I want the case against Sen. Bato dela Rosa to be dismissed outright.”
“What I’m saying is that, it would be set aside if we are to take it up, because it is not yet covered by the Senate rules,” Ejercito said in a statement in Filipino.
Senate approval
Ejercito said the Senate committee on rules can amend the existing rules to cover attendance and set corresponding sanctions, subject to approval by the entire upper chamber.
“Perhaps it was not anticipated before that there would be a legislator who would be absent, which is why we now need to amend this as a whole body to include this,” he continued.
Dela Rosa last attended plenary sessions on Nov. 10 last year, and he has not appeared in the Senate for a total of four months, 10 days.
On Nov. 8, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant to arrest Dela Rosa, but other government officials said they have yet to receive a formal document.
‘Dodging arrest’
Since then, he has stayed under the radar amid rumors of his possible arrest for his past role as the Philippine National Police chief from 2016 to 2018, when he enforced the Duterte administration’s deadly antidrug campaign.
Dela Rosa is also among those named by the ICC as a coperpetrator of the war on drugs.
On March 12, 2025, Duterte was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport and detained at Villamor Air Base the same day. He has since been held in The Hague.
A complaint against Duterte was filed with the ICC in June 2017. In March 2018, Duterte announced the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the court.
However, the withdrawal took effect a year later, in March 2019, allowing the ICC to retain jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the Philippines between Nov. 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, while the country was still a member.
At least 6,000 people were killed during the war on drugs under Duterte’s administration, according to official government data. However, human rights watchdogs and the ICC prosecutor estimate the death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.
