Sen. Bato dela Rosa Reacts To Senate Pres. Tito Sotto’s Statement to Media
BATO DELA ROSA – The Senator reacted to the “gimmick” remarks of Senate President Tito Sotto over the Minority Bloc.
Amid the flood control mess in the Philippines, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have opened investigations. They invited the contractors that were flagged by President Bongbong Marcos as well as the officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that are accused of involvement in the anomalous flood control deals.
Marcos Jr. previously revealed that the Philippines has already spent over P500 billion for the flood control projects from July 22 to May 2025. According to the President, the following contractors got around P100 billion from the said total spending on government flood control deals under his term:
- Legacy Construction Corporation
- Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp.
- St. Timothy Construction Corporation
- QM Builders
- EGB Construction Corporation
- Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.
- Centerways Construction and Development Inc.
- Sunwest, Inc.
- Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp.
- Triple 8 Construction & Supply, Inc.
- Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp.
- Wawao Builders
- MG Samidan Construction
- L.R. Tiqui Builders, Inc.
- Road Edge Trading & Development Services
In the Senate, the flood probe is led by the Blue Ribbon Committee. However, then-Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero is linked to one of the contractors cited by Marcos Jr. for receiving a P30-million campaign donation. The contractor claimed that it was his personal money.
Amid the issue, the Senate had a shakeup. Former Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero is replaced with former Senate Minority Leader Sen. Tito Sotto. Former Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada who was accused by dismissed DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez as allegedly receiving kickbacks from the flood control projects is replaced by Sen. Ping Lacson.
Currently, the Senate Majority Leader is Sen. Migz Zubiri while the Senate Minority Leader is Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. The Senate Majority Bloc has 15 members which are as follows:
- Sen. Tito Sotto (Senate President)
- Sen. Ping Lacson (Senate President Pro Tempore)
- Sen. Miguel Zubiri (Senate Majority Leader)
- Sen. Risa Hontiveros (Deputy Majority Leader)
- Sen. JV Ejercito (Deputy Majority Leader)
- Sen. Loren Legarda
- Sen. Bam Aquino
- Sen. Pia Cayetano
- Sen. Win Gatchalian
- Sen. Lito Lapid
- Sen. Kiko Pangilinan
- Sen. Erwin Tulfo
- Sen. Raffy Tulfo
- Sen. Camille Villar
- Sen. Mark Villar
In the Senate Minority Bloc, the Deputy Minority Leaders are senators Rodante Marcoleta and Joel Villanueva. Here are the members of the Minority Bloc.
- Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (Senate Minority Leader)
- Sen. Rodante Marcoleta
- Senator Joel Villanueva
- Sen. Chiz Escudero
- Sen. Imee Marcos
- Sen. Jinggoy Estrada
- Sen. Robin Padilla
- Sen. Bato Dela Rosa
- Sen. Bong Go
Recently, an issue came across between the Senate majority and the minority blocs. It was over the detention of former DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez. Based on a report on GMA News, the statement of Senate Pres. Tito Sotto over the concerns on the detention of Hernandez did not sit well with some senators in the Minority Bloc.
Based on the report, Senate Pres. Tito Sotto claimed that the concerns about where former DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez should be detained is allegedly just a “gimmick” by the Minority Bloc. Sen. Bato dela Rosa reacted to it.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa told Senate Pres. Tito Sotto that the Senate is not a television show that are just taking up gimmicks. Based on the report, he stressed that they are raising legitimate issues in the chamber.
“Ang Senado po, hindi po noontime TV show na puro gimik ang ating tini-take up dito. Kami po ay nag-raise dito ng legitimate issues which require legitimate attention. So, Mr. President, ako po ay nalulungkot,” Dela Rosa said.
Furthermore, based on the report, Sen. Bato dela Rosa claimed that because they are part of the minority, they still should not be told to die of resentment. Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano also complained that he was not consulted over the transfer of the custody of Hernandez back to the Senate.
Cayetano further stressed that the issue is not about Hernandez but the Senate rules. For his part, Sotto responded that the Senate President “has the power to order the transfer”. He apologized for his choice of words.
Amid the issue and the claim of controversial contractor Sarah Discaya that they started getting government contracts in 2026, Sen. Bato dela Rosa previously claimed that he is ready to probe even the Duterte administration personalities over the flood control issue.