FACT CHECK: Dela Rosa not expelled from Senate

Claim: Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has been expelled from office following the order of newly-elected Senate President Chiz Escudero and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim has gained 25,385 views, 556 likes, and 65 comments as of writing. It came from a YouTube account notorious for spreading disinformation with over 25,800 subscribers. 

The video’s title implies that Escudero had ordered Dela Rosa’s expulsion from the Senate: “Kakapasok lang grabe to! Walang nagawa si Sen. Bato dela Rosa sa utos ng Senado Chiz Escudero Jinggoy.”

(Just in. This is intense! Senator Bato dela Rosa couldn’t do anything against the Senate’s directive Chiz Escudero [and] Jinggoy.)

The video’s thumbnail also bears the text: “Sinibak si Bato! Ito na ang matinding utos ng Senado.” (Bato was removed! This is the Senate’s stern directive.) It tags Dela Rosa as a “traitor.”

The thumbnail also shows photos of Estrada, Dela Rosa, and Escudero, with the latter supposedly holding a document.

The facts: Dela Rosa remains a member of the upper chamber under the 19th Congress, as the Senate’s website shows. 

The video also does not contain proof Dela Rosa is no longer in office, and there are no official sources corroborating the claim.

Article VI, Section 16, of the Constitution explains the process for expelling a sitting senator: “Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member. A penalty of suspension, when imposed, shall not exceed sixty days.”

This is contrary to the video’s claim that an order from the Senate president can expel a senator.

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PDEA leaks: The video only discusses the series of hearings of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) documents that purportedly link President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to illegal drug activities. 

Although this claim remains unverified, committee chair Dela Rosa believes the leaked documents are authentic and not fabricated.

His colleagues, including Escudero and Estrada, have dismissed the allegations of an ex-PDEA agent as hearsay, while House lawmakers called the Senate hearings a “farce” and said the hearings tarnished the institution’s integrity. 

Rappler also recently fact-checked a claim that Estrada was removed from office over the same issue. Estrada serves as vice chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. – James Patrick Cruz/Rappler.com 

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