Salary question: Mayors hit Senate over Bato dela Rosa’s absences
MANILA, Philippines — Mayors for Good Governance, a coalition of incumbent mayors in the Philippines, on Monday, May 25, called out the Senate’s handling of Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa’s prolonged absence and condemned what it described as his "absenteeism."
“Kalahating taong absent si Senador Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa bago siya nagpakita noong Mayo 11, 2026 upang bumoto sa pagpapalit ng liderato ng Senado. Kada buwan, higit-kumulang PHP300,000 ang tinatanggap niyang sahod. Tinatayang aabot sa PHP2.1 milyon na ang natanggap niya sa loob ng 7 buwan ng pag-absent. Sa mga manggagawang Pilipino, umiiral ang ‘no work, no pay,’” the statement read.
(Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was absent for about half a year before he showed up on May 11, 2026, to vote on the Senate leadership change. Every month, he receives around P300,000 in salary. He is estimated to have received P2.1 million over 7 months of absence. For Filipino workers, the “no work, no pay” policy applies.)
The coalition said ordinary workers who did what Dela Rosa had done would face suspension or termination.
“Nananawagan kami sa ating mga senador: ang Senado ay hindi dapat maging kanlungan ng absenteeism at pagtatakipan,” the statement read. (We call on our senators: The Senate should not become a refuge for absenteeism and cover-ups.)
As of Monday, the statement had 58 mayor-signatories across the country, including Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte and Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.
Wife appeals to Supreme Court
Meanwhile, Grace Nancy Dela Rosa, the wife of the senator, made a public appeal to the Supreme Cour.
"Please do not be an accessory to bringing my husband to The Hague. Every Filipino must be tried in his own country," she said in a statement Monday.
Her appeal came after the high court denied Dela Rosa’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the enforcement of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him. The warrant links him to the crimes against humanity case of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Granting the people in power permission to voluntarily surrender another Filipino is an admission that you are weak and incapable of handling this case, thus the need for an international court to intervene,” she said.
As of 4 p.m, the Supreme Court had yet to make public the opinions related to the denial of Dela Rosa’s request. The court noted that there is no final decision yet on the main petition.
Dela Rosa was still absent from Monday’s Senate session as he remains in hiding from authorities, who have deployed tracker teams to locate him.
He was last seen leaving the Senate premises with Sen. Robin Padilla in the early hours of May 14. Since then, Dela Rosa has disappeared from public view.
Padilla, meanwhile, has become a person of interest for allegedly helping Dela Rosa leave the Senate. He has denied the allegations, despite also admitting that he and Dela Rosa left the Senate premises together. — with reports from Ian Laqui and John Marwin Elao
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Disclosure: Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte is a shareholder of Philstar Global Corp., which operates Philstar.com. This article was produced independently in adherence to our editorial and ethical guidelines.
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