Senate Pres. Tito Sotto Speaks on Long Absence of Sen. Bato dela Rosa from his Senate Duties
TITO SOTTO
Sen.
Bato dela Rosa was no show in the Senate sessions after Ombudsman Boying Remulla claimed that an arrest warrant was allegedly issued by the ICC
(International Criminal Court) against the Senator. According to the country’s chief graft buster, while the other agencies did not confirm the existence of the document, he allegedly has a copy of it.
Photo Courtesy of Inquirer
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla claimed that his brother, Ombudsman Boying Remulla, got the alleged copy of an ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa from a “third party” and not the ICC. Neither the foreign court nor the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed the Ombudsman’s claim.
Senate Pres.
Tito Sotto previously revealed that Sen. Bato dela Rosa is absent from the sessions since November 11 but there’s no sanction
for it. According to him, Dela Rosa has not gotten in touch with him since the Senate break.
Photo Courtesy of GMA Network
Senate Pres. Tito Sotto admitted that Sen. Bato dela Rosa’s recent absence during the budget hearing of the proposed fund of the Department of National Defense (DND) did not sit well with him. He stressed that it was an important matter.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa was replaced by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, in defending the proposed budget of the DND. The former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief turned Senator reportedly sent a letter to the panel but did not disclose the reason for his absence.
“Hindi okay ‘yun. In the first place dapat hindi mo hiniling na makuha mo ‘yung chairmanship na ‘yun… Sana kung hindi mo kaya, hindi mo dapat hiniling na makuha mo ‘yung chairmanship niya, especially vice chairmanship ng budget, National Defense, napaka-halaga eh,”
Sotto said.
Amid his long absence, Sen. Bato dela Rosa receives his salary as senator. Both Senate Pres. Tito Sotto and Sen.
Sherwin Gatchalian claimed that the “no work, no pay” rule does not apply to senators
. Recently, the Senate Chief defended the long absence of his fellow lawmaker.
📷: Scout Magazine
Based on a report of The Philippine Star, Senate Pres. Tito Sotto claimed that a congressman allegedly received his/her salary despite being absent for a year. According to him, the Congress did not do anything about it.
“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
,” Sotto said.
According to Senate Pres. Tito Sotto, if there’s a question over the long absence of Sen. Bato dela Rosa, it would be better to file a complaint before the Senate Ethics Committee for the matter to be discussed. Based on the
report
, Dela Rosa has not sent a letter to the chamber’s Chief 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,”
he said.
Amid the reported ICC arrest warrant against the former PNP chief, Senate Minority Leader
Alan Peter Cayetano defended Sen. Bato dela Rosa