Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente C. Sotto III has called for clear rules governing prolonged and unauthorized absences by senators, citing a policy gap that currently leaves absenteeism without sanctions.

In Senate Resolution No. 751, dated Oct. 27, Mr. Sotto recommended that the Senate Committee on Rules institutionalize regulations on senators’ absences. He said the measure would help ensure that the chamber operates at the “highest standards of public service.”

“Senate absenteeism is becoming a paramount public issue,” Mr. Sotto said, noting that several complaints had been filed with the Committee on Ethics against senators over their absences.

Among the most notable complaints were those filed by civil society organizations and former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV against Senator Ronald M. dela Rosa over his absences in 2025. The complaints followed reports that the International Criminal Court had issued, or could issue, a warrant of arrest. Mr. dela Rosa’s absence has continued as he remains in hiding to evade arrest.

Mr. Sotto said the Senate should revisit its existing rules to determine the most appropriate way to address prolonged and unauthorized absences. Under the resolution, that review would fall to the Committee on Rules, the panel he asked to institutionalize attendance regulations — placing the matter within the chamber’s own rulemaking process even as complaints over senators’ absences are lodged with the Committee on Ethics.

“[A]s public servants elected by the Filipino people and whose salaries and allowances are derived from the taxes they have paid, we owe it to them to perform our duties with diligence and to represent them in major legislative functions,” Mr. Sotto said in the resolution.

Source: Bworldonline

— Francessca S. Abalos