Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa on Wednesday finally broke his silence on why he returned to the Senate during the opening of the plenary session on May 11, after spending six months away from the public eye amid reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant of arrest against him.
His sudden appearance immediately drew public attention and sparked questions about why he chose to take the risk after months of absence.
During the interview on DZRH's Dos Por Dos, Dela Rosa said there were three reasons behind his decision to reappear despite the possibility of arrest.
The senator said his return was driven by three reasons — the Senate leadership vote, his duty to serve as a senator-judge in the impeachment court, and mounting embarrassment over criticisms that he was receiving a salary despite not reporting for work.
“Tatlong bagay lang ‘yan. Una, magkakaroon ng change of leadership sa Senado,” he said.
“Wala [mangyayaring leadership change] kasi 12 lang sila. Ako ang pang-13,“ the senator added.
Earlier, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano denied reports that there would be a leadership change in the Senate to stop the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte. Cayetano insisted that such claims were not true.
However, during the opening of the Senate plenary session and following dela Rosa’s appearance, a voting for the Senate leadership took place. Thirteen senators voted in favor of Cayetano, nine supported Senator Tito Sotto, while two abstained. As a result, Cayetano was declared the new Senate President on Monday afternoon, May 11.
“Pangalawa, ‘yung aming impending duty na mag-sit as senator judges sa impeachment court,” he explained.
The senator also admitted that he was already embarrassed by criticism accusing him of receiving a salary without working.
“Pangatlo, hiyang-hiya na ako dahil binabash na ako na tumatanggap ng sweldo nang hindi nagtatrabaho. Kaya sabi ko magtrabaho na tayo. Nakakahiya na,” he added.
Dela Rosa also spoke about the alleged attempts to prevent him from participating in the Senate leadership vote. He claimed that the intervention of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was connected to efforts to stop him from casting his vote.
“Ang pagharang ng NBI, kasama na rin ‘yun para hindi ako makaboto. Para hindi ako makaakyat sa taas, walang mangyaring change of leadership,” he said.
It can be recalled that dela Rosa had not appeared in the Senate since November 11, 2025 after Ombudsman Remulla confirmed during DZRH’s Executive Session on November 8, 2025 that an arrest warrant had been issued against the senator. However, details regarding the implementation of the alleged warrant have not yet been made public.
Despite speculations that the Senate leadership change was directly linked to the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Duterte, dela Rosa denied that impeachment was the main reason behind the shift in power.
“Hindi naman ‘yun ang main consideration dahil matagal naman ‘yan. Kahit kailanman ‘yung change of leadership ay nandyan ‘yan. Walang minority na hindi nararapat na magiging majority. Kami, we were once majority at sila ang minority, inagaw nila sa amin. Wala namang problema ‘yun, kasi that’s a normal process sa Senado pero kung sabihin mo dahil sa impeachment. With or without impeachment lahat ng minority gustong maging majority,” he said.
According to dela Rosa, leadership struggles in the Senate are a normal political process, regardless of the impeachment issue.
