Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said that the office of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa continues to function despite the senator’s repeated absences from the Senate.
However, Sotto shared in an interview that Dela Rosa has not been responding to his text messages since last year.
Sotto said he has several contact numbers for Dela Rosa, but none of his messages have received a reply.
According to the Senate President, his last message to the absentee senator was sent before the deliberations of the bicameral conference committee on the 2026 national budget.
Dela Rosa is a member of that committee.
The Senate leader further explained that Dela Rosa is known to avoid issues, so there is no reason to force him to appear.
What matters, he said, is that the senator’s office continues to operate despite his absence.
It can be recalled that Dela Rosa stopped appearing in public after reports surfaced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant of arrest against him over his alleged involvement in the bloody war on drugs under the Duterte administration.
(PHOTO COURTESY: SENATE)
