No work, no pay, no comment? Bato asked to answer no-salary bid

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate ethics committee has asked Sen. Bato dela Rosa to comment on a proposal to amend Senate rules and impose a "no work, no pay" policy on lawmakers, a move that would directly affect the senator, who has not shown up for work since November. 

Ethics panel chair Sen. JV Ejercito said Monday, May 4, the committee is formally seeking Dela Rosa's position on the proposed rule change after discussing the matter in a meeting today, where it also disposed of four out of nine pending ethics complaints against several senators.  

The proposal, Ejercito acknowledged, is tied directly to the ethics complaint filed against Dela Rosa for continuing to skip attendance in the Senate. 

Asked whether Dela Rosa has responded, he said: "Ah, wala pa eh (There's no response yet)." 

The senator — named a co-perpetrator by the International Criminal Court in its crimes against humanity case against former President Rodrigo Duterte — has continued collecting his pay despite missing more than half of all session days. He earns between P237,000 and P334,000 plus allowances. 

The Senate currently has no mechanism to dock a member's pay for non-attendance, a fact Ejercito himself has acknowledged would cause any absenteeism complaint to be dismissed outright. 

Amending the rules requires a vote in plenary, which resumed Monday after a congressional break.

"This is not yet [the] specific ethics complaint response [being asked] from Senator Dela Rosa," Ejercito told reporters. "The ethics committee asked him to comment on the rule amendment proposal because it concerns a complaint filed against him as well."

"As a colleague, I believe it is only fair that 'no work, no pay' applies to everyone's salary and allowances," Ejercito said in mixed English and Filipino.

Show cause order urged

Senate President Tito Sotto separately told reporters Monday that he would recommend the committee compel Dela Rosa to explain his absence. 

"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 said, though he noted he does not chair the panel and can only give a recommendation. (I would suggest they ask Senator Bato for an explanation, a show cause.)

Dela Rosa, former national police chief under Duterte, vanished from public view after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla alleged in late 2025 that the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant against him.

He logged 31 absences out of 58 session days during the 20th Congress' first regular session, between July 28, 2025, and March 18, 2026. This made him the top absentee in the Senate and cost him nearly all his committee memberships.

Complaints roundup

Of the nine ethics complaints the panel tackled Monday, four were dismissed for failing to meet requirements of "form and substance," Ejercito said.

Among those still pending is the complaint against Sen. Chiz Escudero over a P30-million campaign donation he received in 2022 from Lawrence Lubiano, who controls Centerways Construction, a firm flagged as one of the top flood-control contractors. 

Ejercito did not name the other respondents and said the panel wanted to avoid sensationalizing the cases.

A complaint against Ejercito himself, for allegedly sitting on the Escudero case, was among those dismissed. Ejercito said he stepped out of the room for that discussion, and Sen. Francis Pangilinan presided over the vote.