The Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges will begin discussions on pending ethics complaints on March 4, 2026, according to committee chair Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito.

Ejercito said the panel received permission from Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III to use the Senate President’s conference room for the hearing, moving the session up from the originally planned date of March 10.

The senator said that the committee has been unable to hold a hearing due to a shortage of available committee rooms and has been waiting for a vacancy for the past two weeks

The closed-door meeting will be limited to committee members and will focus on the adoption of rules and the review of filed complaints.

Currently, six ethics complaints are pending, which the committee will tackle according to a “First In, First Out” rule.

The most recent complaint targets Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, filed by the civil society group ‘Wag Kang KuCurropt’ led by former Department of Finance Usec. Cielo Magno, citing his prolonged absence from official duties.

Meanwhile, the Senate President earlier assured the public that the complaints, including the one against Dela Rosa, would be addressed promptly.

In a report by RH Raymund Dadpaas on DZRH's Damdaming Bayan, Sotto emphasized that he will personally oversee the matter to ensure Dela Rosa's case is discussed in the Ethics Committee.

“We will have to look into it. Ako mismo, I will look at the complaint and I will talk to the chairman of the ethics to discuss. Kasi alam ko meron naka-pending pa rin doon eh. There are about two or three issues,” he said.

He added that the operations of Dela Rosa’s office remain ongoing to avoid disruption for the staff, despite the senator’s absence. The Senate President further said the simplest course of action would be for Senator Bato himself to personally decide not to receive his salary for the time being.

He further stated: “Perhaps the best answer is to call for a Committee of Ethics hearing to conduct a review of all the complaints that have been filed.”

Dela Rosa has not attended Senate sessions since November, following rumors about a potential International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant linked to his role in the anti-drug campaign during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.