EDITORIAL - Life on the run

With the fat salaries, allowances and benefits paid by taxpayers to senators and congressmen, people have a right to demand value for money.

Lawmakers already enjoy so many breaks from their principal task of legislation. They should show that they’re worth the substantial public funds being expended for their salaries, allowances and the maintenance of their offices and staff, by showing up for work.

These issues are being raised as Sen. Ronald dela Rosa remains missing in action while his colleagues rush to approve the 2026 national budget together with the House.

Dela Rosa went MIA shortly after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced that the International Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant for the senator in connection with the war on drugs, for which former president Rodrigo Duterte is currently detained in the ICC prison in The Hague.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Justice have said they have not received a copy of the ICC warrant. Remulla, however, vouches for the authenticity of the warrant that is saved on his cell phone.

ICC warrants are usually coursed through the International Criminal Police Organization for enforcement among Interpol member states. Both the ICC and Interpol have adopted a policy of secrecy when arrest warrants are issued, to prevent the subjects of the warrants from evading arrest.

Dela Rosa, mindful of what happened to Duterte, is taking no chances and has gone into hiding, and has not participated even online in Senate proceedings.

As Duterte’s first national police chief and the reputed architect of the brutal war on drugs, Dela Rosa is likely to face ICC indictment for murder as a crime against humanity.

Amid Dela Rosa’s prolonged absence, Senate President Vicente Sotto said the chamber is unlikely at this point to impose sanctions on the former national police chief. Sotto suggested that taxpayers instead file a complaint against Dela Rosa related to ethics or failure to perform his tasks as a senator.

Another option is that if an arrest warrant has effectively incapacitated Dela Rosa, he should have the grace or delicadeza to relinquish his Senate seat. He cannot waste public funds to finance life on the run.