Senate to tackle ethics complaints

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January 4, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Ethics complaints filed last year against senators will be tackled next month by the Senate committee on ethics, its chairman Sen. JV Ejercito said yesterday.

Ejercito said the committee was unable to convene and organize in recent months because the Senate was preoccupied with budget hearings that ran until December, leaving no time for plenary sessions to elect the committee’s members.

With the budget process concluded, Ejercito said the committee would likely be convened in February, saying the Senate’s resumption of session on Jan. 26 could hopefully lead to the election of the ethics committee’s members.

He also warned against attempts to pressure or intimidate lawmakers to favor certain complaints, noting that the committee would strictly follow procedure.

“We are on a first-in first-out basis. We will not base the order on what legislator you most hate,” Ejercito told radio dwIZ.

Separate ethics complaints were filed against Senators Francis Escudero and Risa Hontiveros last year, both of which remain pending before the Senate ethics panel.

The complaint against Hontiveros arose from allegations by a Senate witness who claimed he was offered money to provide false testimony related to accusations against Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Apollo Quiboloy, as well as firearms allegedly given to former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Hontiveros has denied the allegation and said she is prepared to counter the claim with documentary evidence.

Escudero, for his part, faces a complaint linked to an alleged P30-million campaign contribution from a contractor who is said to be a personal friend. He has dismissed the complaint as politically motivated, describing it as an attempt to divert attention and vowing to contest the accusations.

Asked which ethics complaint was filed first, Ejercito declined to answer, saying there are several complaints involving different senators that still need to be evaluated.

“We will see which has basis. I don’t want to name anyone without any basis,” he said.

Ejercito said only complaints that the committee determines to have sufficient grounds will move forward and that the process would be guided by law and not by public pressure.