Six Senators Are Facing Ethics Complaints — Ejercito Will Start Vetting Cases Next Week, But Won't Name All of Them

The Senate Ethics Committee, led by Senator JV Ejercito, is finally getting to work — he announced that an executive session will be held next week to begin vetting the growing pile of complaints filed against six of their colleagues. Senate President Sotto has lent his conference room for the March 4 meeting.

Among those publicly known to face complaints: Senate President Francis Escudero (for accepting campaign funds from a contractor), Senator Risa Hontiveros (accused of 'witness tampering' in the Quiboloy investigation), Senator Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa (for his three-month-plus absence), and Ejercito himself (for allegedly failing to act on the Escudero complaint).

As for the other two senators? Ejercito won't say. 'Sorry, I can't disclose. It would be unfair for those frivolous cases,' he told The Manila Times. He'll only reveal names of cases that have 'sufficient grounds' — suggesting some complaints may not even make it past initial review.

The committee's delay has itself been controversial. Ejercito said they couldn't meet earlier because all committee rooms were reserved for public hearings — a logistical excuse that critics found hard to swallow given the urgency of the complaints, especially regarding Dela Rosa's extended absence.

Speaking of Dela Rosa, Sotto offered a lukewarm defense of keeping his office operational: 'They submit bills and comment on other bills. It could be coming from Senator Bato or his advisers or legal people.' Whether a senator's staff doing the work counts as the senator doing his duty — that's exactly what the Ethics Committee will have to decide.

Source: The Manila Times