While he refused to name names, Senator JV Ejercito said Wednesday, 5 November, that four senators currently face ethics complaints.
"I cannot divulge as it might not sit well with those who have a case... There are [a] total of [four] cases," Ejercito told reporters.
"I have to get the consent of the members. Unfortunately committee members haven't been constituted," he added.
Ejercito explained that he was only appointed to head the Senate Committee on Ethics days before the session adjourned on 3 October.
"[T]herefore, [I] cannot hold meetings or hearings. Membership is yet to be manifested and completed during resumption of plenary session next week," he continued.
Ejercito said they will proceed immediately after the Committee is organized and its internal rules are adopted.
Once the Committee is fully constituted, Ejercito said it will begin to deliberate on the four pending complaints filed against individual senators in the order they were received, following a “first in, first out” approach.
"We are committed to carrying out our mandate with integrity, impartiality, and full respect for due process," he added.
On 2 October, Eldrige Marvin Aceron filed a complaint based on Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero's receipt of a P30 million campaign donation in 2022 from Lawrence Lubiano, the owner of a construction firm that won government projects in Bicol.
Aside from Escudero, the Senate panel also received an ethics complaint against Senator Risa Hontiveros for alleged "witness tampering." The complaint against her was filed by lawyers Ferdinand Topacio, Manuelito Luna, and Jacinto Paras.
The ethics complaint against Hontiveros included the recantation of Michael Maurillo, also known as Rene, who served as a witness in an inquiry led by Hontiveros about “abuses” in the premises of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, founded by detained televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, who is now facing cases of rape and sexual abuse.