Senate Pres. Tito Sotto Confirms Sen. Bato dela Rosa Continues To Get Salary despite Long Absence
TITO SOTTO – The Senate President defended Senator Bato dela Rosa for receiving his salary despite his long absence.
Following the claim of Ombudsman Boying Remulla that an arrest warrant was allegedly issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him, Sen. Bato dela Rosa was no show during the Senate sessions. Neither the ICC nor the Department of Justice has confirmed the claim of Remulla but the Ombudsman further claimed that he allegedly has a copy of the supposed ICC arrest warrant.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa was the first chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the tenure of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Currently, Duterte remains under the custody of the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands since March. Dela Rosa has always been vocal that he is allegedly the next person that the foreign court wants to investigate.
The camp of Sen. Bato dela Rosa previously claimed that they have yet to confirm the existence of an ICC arrest warrant against the Senator. According to his lawyer, Atty. Israelito Torreon, they hope the Philippine government will uphold the rule of law in case the foreign court has indeed issued an arrest warrant against his client.
Amid his absence during Senate sessions, Sen. Bato dela Rosa’s lawyer asserted that he is not hiding despite a reported ICC arrest warrant. According to Atty. Torreon, the Senator may make himself available once the government has clarified its course of actions.
Senate Pres. Tito Sotto previously confirmed that Sen. Bato dela Rosa is absent from the Senate sessions since they returned from their break last November 11. Their fellow lawmaker, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, previously claimed that senators are not under a “no work, no pay” rule amid the long absence of Dela Rosa.
Gatchalian who leads the Senate Finance Committee replaced Dela Rosa in defending the proposed budget of the Department of National Defense. Sotto previously admitted that his absence does not sit well with him. However, the Senate Chief defended his fellow senator with regards to getting a salary despite the absence from the Senate duties.
Based on a report on The Philippine Star, Senate Pres. Tito Sotto claimed that there is allegedly a congressman in the House of Representatives who is absent for the whole year but still received his salaries. He stressed that Sen. Bato dela Rosa is only absent for around two to three weeks now.
“Sa Congress nga, mayroong isang buong taon hindi pumapasok eh. Wala naman silang ginagawa, wala rin umaangal eh. Diba? O eto, 2 to 3 weeks pa lang,” the Senate Chief said.
Senate Pres. Tito Sotto advised the Filipinos who want to question the absence of Sen. Bato dela Rosa to file a complaint before the Senate Ethics Committee. Based on the report, he admitted that Dela Rosa has not sent a letter to explain his absence.
“Siguro kung merong mga kababayan tayo na gustong tanungin ito, gustong panagutin ang legislator, mag-file sila ng ethics complait. Yun ang pinakamagandang remedyo, para matalakay natin ito,” Sotto said.
Previously, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson joked on Sen. Bato dela Rosa amid a reported ICC arrest warrant over “hiding”.