Dela Rosa mulls waiving Senate salary, perks

By Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel

SENATOR Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa, who is facing an ethics complaint due to prolonged absenteeism, is considering voluntarily stopping salary and other privileges, a senator said on Tuesday.

“I think they’re just waiting for the final decision. They are already considering whether to waive the salary and allowances,” Senate Ethics and Privileges Committee Chairperson Joseph Victor G. Ejercito told reporters in an ambush interview.

On April 21, he appealed to Mr. dela Rosa to waive Senate financial privileges, a call which, he said, was backed by Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano, in a media interview during the Hall of Justice inspection in Taguig City, defended Mr. dela Rosa’s absence, noting that the senator has not been going to work due to the reported International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant of arrest.

“Everyone wants him to work. Senator Bato wants to work; the minority and majority want him to work,” Mr. Cayetano said. “The problem is there is a threat against him that the government has not given him any assurance that they will protect his rights.”

He added that Mr. dela Rosa’s has been fully operational amid his absence from sessions through research and consultations.

Mr. dela Rosa stopped attending Senate sessions since Nov. 11, 2025, following claims of an ICC arrest warrant after being named by the tribunal as a co-perpetrator on former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s war on drugs.

From July 28, 2025 to March 18, the senator had the least session attendance with 31 absences.

The committee on the morning of April 28 convened to tackle nine ethics complaints on a first-in and first-out basis.

Only Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo M. Lacson attended the discussion, with another meeting scheduled on May 4, explaining that the other senators skipped the meeting due to the session break. Others were attending to personal matters but will participate upon resumption next week, he said.

Mr. Ejercito said the meeting concluded with the publication of the ethics rules, allowing the senators to dispose of their tasks and duties.

The hearings of the Ethics committee have been stalled for months due to delays in the approval of the committee’s rules.

“This is what we’ve waited for for so long because we waited for all members to sign [the ethics committee rules],” he said in mixed English and Filipino. “So now we have formally started the ethics committee because we finally have rules.

ABOUT TIME
Eric Daniel C. de Torres, political science professor at the University of the East, said it is “about time” the senator should stop accepting his salary and allowances, noting this raises a need for legislation.

“This is already long overdue and my assessment is that until such time that there will be a new president and should it be (Vice-President) Sara, we will expect that Sen. Bato will never show up and or perform his function as a senator considering the new developments in the case of (Mr. Duterte),” he said via Messenger chat.

“In line with this, the Senate and the (House of Representatives) should pass a law regarding this case that should cover all elected officials, especially we are talking here about public funds coming from the hard-earned money of our taxpayers.”