Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa – Photo courtesy of Bato Dela Rosa/Facebook.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said Sunday that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa should formally respond to an ethics complaint over his prolonged absence and explain his side before the Senate proceeds with the case.
Sotto made the remark ahead of Monday’s scheduled meeting of the Senate ethics committee chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito.
He said he had suggested that the panel formally notify Dela Rosa of the complaint and require him to submit an explanation.
Although he stressed that he was not part of the committee, Sotto said the senator should be asked to justify his continued absence and show cause why the complaint should not move forward.
Sotto also noted that Dela Rosa had not recently reached out to him regarding the matter.
The ethics complaint was filed in February by the group Wag Kang KuCorrupt, which accused Dela Rosa of dereliction of duty due to his repeated absences from Senate sessions.
Dela Rosa has not been regularly attending Senate work since November, following reports of a possible warrant linked to an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation.
He was earlier named among individuals allegedly linked to crimes against humanity complaints in connection with the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign, which he led as Philippine National Police chief.
The case stems from allegations tied to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, which resulted in thousands of deaths, according to human rights groups and international monitors.