FACT-CHECK: Senator’s salaries not subject to ‘no work no pay’ rule

Claim: Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa will not receive a salary for February 2026.

Rating: FALSE

A Facebook post falsely claimed that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was in tears following the suspension of his salary for February 2026.

Flagged content: The graphic featured three images of an emotional dela Rosa with text that read “Bato Dela Rosa, subrang imosyonal dahil wala siyang nakuhang sahod ngayong Buwan. Anong masasabi mo?” (Bato Dela Rosa is very emotional because he didn’t receive a salary this month. What do you say?)

• Pictures of dela Rosa used in the graphic were taken when he was seen crying after Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri resigned the Senate presidency in May 2024.

Our debunk: Regardless of attendance, participation or performance, members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are technically entitled to receive their full monthly salaries along with additional allowances. 

• Article VI, Section 10 of the 1987 Constitution states that salaries of the members of both chambers of congress “shall be determined by law.”
• The Department of Budget and Management lists senators under Salary Grade 31, which is equivalent to about P290,000 to P330,000 a month plus allowances.
• While the 1987 Constitution has no provision regarding salary adjustments for absentee legislators, it does provide senators with immunity from arrest for offenses punishable by less than six years of imprisonment, though this immunity does not apply to serious crimes.

However, this might not be the case for long:

• House Majority Leader Rep. Sandro Marcos on Jan. 27 filed House Bill 7432, which seeks to impose a “no work, no pay” compensation scheme for members of Congress.
• According to Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, the Senate leadership is exploring amendments to the Senate rules that would permit the withholding of dela Rosa’s salary.

Rewind: Dela Rosa has been absent in the Senate since November 2025, following speculations that an arrest warrant would soon be issued against him relating to his involvement in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

• The International Criminal Court issued a list of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s “co-perpetrators” in alleged crimes against humanity on Feb 14.
• The list includes dela Rosa, a former national police chief, and Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, a former Duterte aide.

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post has since been shared 168 times and has generated more than 6,600 reactions and 6,400 comments.

• The account that shared the post, named “Parayno Joseph,” has more than 1.6M followers, suggesting a considerable scope of influence. 

Spot the fake: False information can distract from the real issues. As the crimes against humanity charges against Duterte and his co-perpetrators proceed, and issues of corruption in the legislature continue to blaze in the backdrop, small and seemingly unimportant lies online can snowball into a distortion of facts and a change of public narratives. 

• A high follower count does not guarantee the credibility or accuracy of the information being shared.
• Always trace the original source of emotional or sensational images, as they may be repurposed from an entirely different context.
• Be wary of content that is designed to provoke extreme emotional reactions, as this is a common tactic used to generate engagement and profit. Nikko Balbedina, Jelly Lustre

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