Why hasn’t the Senate ethics panel acted on the complaint vs Escudero?

A private lawyer named Marvin Aceron on Thursday, January 22, filed an ethics complaint against Senator JV Ejercito over his supposed inaction on a complaint against Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

According to Aceron, Ejercito grossly neglected his duties as ethics committee chairman by failing to act on a separate complaint he filed against Escudero back in October over a P30-million campaign donation from contractor Lawrence Lubiano.

“After 109 days of complete inaction, it constitutes willful Gross Neglect of Constitutional Duty—a deliberate refusal to perform a mandatory duty,” Aceron wrote in his complaint. He also called for Ejercito’s censure, removal as ethics committee chair, and mandatory inhibition from the Escudero complaint.

Ejercito finally addressed the matter in a privilege speech during the Senate’s plenary session on Tuesday, January 27. According to him, leadership changes in the upper chamber came with a reshuffle of committee chairmanships.

The Senate deputy majority leader explained that he was elected chair of the ethics panel after Senator Tito Sotto replaced Escudero as Senate president in September. But the committee could not perform its duties yet since they were not yet constituted due to vacancies in the committee membership.

He also noted in earlier reports that the complaint against Escudero has yet to be read in plenary due to the Senate’s tight schedule with 2026 budget deliberations.

“As chairman, I cannot exercise powers that I do not possess and have yet to exist. How can I grossly neglect a duty that is not yet there?” Ejercito said.

It was only during the Senate plenary session on Monday, January 26, that the remaining spots of the ethics committee were filled by Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Joel Villanueva. They were then replaced by Senators Imee Marcos and Rodante Marcoleta just a day after.

But why the sudden membership switch? Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri cited a conflict of interest.

Villanueva is currently facing graft and malversation complaints over his alleged receipt of kickbacks from ghost flood control projects in Bulacan, which he denies. Meanwhile, Dela Rosa has been a no-show since November amid rumors of an International Criminal Court warrant against him.

With Marcos and Marcoleta added to the lineup, the ethics committee is now composed of the following senators:

1. JV Ejercito (chairman)
2. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan (vice chair)
3. Risa Hontiveros
4. Erwin Tulfo
5. Christopher “Bong” Go
6. Imee Marcos
7. Rodante Marcoleta
8. Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (ex-officio member)
9. Majority Leader Migz Zubiri (ex-officio member)
10. Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano (ex-officio member)

Ejercito said the committee is now in the process of reviewing rules that were adopted from the 19th Congress and is also preparing to schedule an organizational meeting.

“We planned to do this with utmost respect for the processes, established rules, and traditions of this institution — in faithful fulfillment of our mandate, without any gross neglect of our duty,” he said.

Zubiri also stood behind the deputy majority leader, describing Ejercito as the best man for the job.

“He’s also the best candidate and the best person for the job, Mr. President, because he is the reluctant candidate. He didn’t want this position from the very beginning but he’s willing to make the sacrifice to ensure that every one of us will be following the rules and ethical standards of this great institution,” he said.

The Commission on Elections’ political finance and affairs department had earlier cleared the former Senate president of liability from Lubiano’s campaign donation. Lubiano, they said, is a different entity from his construction firm, Centerways, which was named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as one of the top 15 flood control project contractors.

We’ll have to wait and see if Escudero’s colleagues at the Senate agree. – Rappler.com