THINGS are moving at warp speed at the Senate – and millions of Filipinos, angry and never entertained, are keenly watching.
We join Rep. Leila de Lima in her push for an independent body to investigate the explosions at the Senate building on May 13 when authorities attempted to serve an International Criminal Court arrest warrant on Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who surprisingly reappeared two days earlier.
Dela Rosa, absent for six months from Nov 11, 2025, shortly after officials confirmed an ICC warrant had been issued against him during the Duterte administration’s drug war, had a surprise attendance on May 11 which shook the Senate leadership and installed Alan Peter Cayetano, replacing Vicente Sotto III .
De Lima’s push for an independent body, not one created by the Senate, is significant because it directly challenges the Senate to investigate itself.
By demanding a commission of retired judges and former senators, she is highlighting concerns about impartiality, potential cover-ups, and accountability regarding the gunfire incident and Sen. dela Rosa’s predawn escape on May 14 amid what was caught live on video as a chaotic standoff involving arrest attempts at the second floor between Senate security and law enforcement agents.
There is legal muscle in de Lima’s argument that the Senate cannot objectively investigate the event when its members were directly involved in granting protective custody to Dela Rosa and witnessed the chaos.
De Lima, herself arrested on Feb. 24, 2017 and jailed for 6 years, 8 months, and 21 days (2,454 days) on charges of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading, was officially cleared of all remaining charges on June 24, 2024.
She was accused by the Duterte administration of allegedly receiving and collecting drug money from convicts at the New Bilibid Prison to fund her senatorial campaign, allegations claimed by de Lima as politically motivated retaliation for her vocal investigations into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs while still mayor of Davao City.
Now a member of the House of Representatives which impeached Vice President Sara Duterte twice – the first on Feb 5, 2025, when 215 lawmakers voted to approve the complaint but voided by the Supreme Court on technicalities, and the second on May 11, when the House voted 257-25 to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial.
We agree with her proposal for a neutral body composed of former senators and retired members of the judiciary to guarantee a fair, impartial, and credible inquiry.
De Lima has been critical of the Senate’s internal security protocols during the incident, pointing out the “trigger-happy” handling of the situation and questioning how a subject of “protective custody” – which can be a euphemism for involuntary confinement – was able to leave the premises.
Dela Rosa’s absence notwithstanding, the Senate can enforce evidence and accountability regarding him by pursuing formal investigations, enforcing attendance rules, and clarifying the circumstances surrounding his departure in the dark from the Senate premises.
We will see in the next few days how the Senate Ethics Committee will address attendance and decorum and how the Senate will rise to the challenge of impartiality to allow an independent body to proceed with investigation without obstruction.
