Senate Pres. Tito Sotto Speaks Anew on Sen. Bato dela Rosa’s Absence from Senate Sessions
TITO SOTTO
– The Senate President confirmed that Senator Bato dela Rosa still receives salary as senator despite his long absence.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa was no show during the Senate sessions since the chamber’s break was over. His absence did not only come after the Senate break but as well as after the claim of Ombudsman Boying Remulla that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has allegedly issued an arrest warrant against the Senator.
Dela Rosa usually claims that he is supposedly the next person that the ICC wants to arrest and investigate over the Duterte drug war. Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is now under the custody of the foreign court in The Hague, Netherlands since March.
Despite that there are no confirmations until now, the Department of Justice or
DOJ said it is obligated to execute if the ICC will issue an arrest warrant against Sen. Bato dela Rosa
. Neither the ICC nor the DOJ has confirmed the claim of the Ombudsman.
Photo Courtesy of PhilStar
However, according to Ombudsman Boying Remulla, he allegedly has a “copy” of the supposed ICC arrest warrant against Sen. Bato dela Rosa. The Senator filed a motion before the Supreme Court asking it to compel Remulla to release a copy of the supposed warrant of arrest.
Photo Courtesy of Inquirer
The Supreme Court denied the motion of Sen. Bato dela Rosa. The lawmaker skipped the recent budget hearing on the proposed fund of the Department of National Defense (DND). Senate Pres. Tito Sotto admitted that the absence of the Senator at the budget hearing does not sit well with him.
Sotto stressed that the DND is a very important agency. He also seemingly took swipe at the Senator as he said that those who cannot handle the position should not ask for it.
📷: Inquirer
According to Sotto, he has yet to receive a communication from Dela Rosa as well. Based on the
post
, the Senate President advised those who question the long absence of the Senator to file a complaint before the Senate ethics committee.
“‘Yun ang pinakamagandang remedyo, para matalakay natin ito,”
Sotto said.
Recently, a
lawyer questioned the long absence of Sen. Bato dela Rosa