Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said there are currently no policy in the Senate that enforces a “no work, no pay” rule for senators who fail to attend sessions.

"Sa pagkaalam ko, walang ganyan na set-up sa mga senators," Gatchalian told reporters.

This comes after Senator Ronald “Bato” De La Rosa reportedly did not attend sessions since November 11, 2025. As a result, he failed to perform his duties as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and did not defend the Department of National Defense (DND) budget, RH Raymund Dadpaas reported on dzRH's Breaktime.

Gatchalian disclosed that he had no personal communication with De La Rosa. He was informed only by the senator’s staff, who requested that Gatchalian defend the DND budget in his place.

The senator acknowledged, however, that the rule is applied to Senate employees depending on their employment status.

De La Rosa has been considered a “no-show” since November 11, amid reports that a warrant of arrest has been issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings (EJK) during his tenure as Philippine National Police (PNP) chief under the Duterte administration.

Last week, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said Dela Rosa’s continued absence from Senate plenary sessions is “not okay,” especially during the deliberations on the proposed 2026 budget of the DND.

As of now, Sotto said there are no existing sanctions in Senate rules for prolonged absences, but he will look into the matter.

Meanwhile, Sotto personally inspected the cleanup and repair works in the Senate Session Hall, which was damaged by fire. He said the work must continue around the clock to prepare the hall for the upcoming session tomorrow afternoon.

Sotto added that the session cannot be postponed, even though tomorrow, December 2, is a holiday in Pasay, due to time constraints to complete discussions on the 2026 National Budget.