MANILA — The Senate may need to review its internal rules in light of the continued absence of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said.

Lacson said the matter could be tackled more thoroughly during the all-senators’ caucus scheduled on Monday.

“(May rules) kami pag continuous absence sa committee, nawawala ang membership sa committee. As far as plenary, wala kaming rules. I think we should revisit the rules of the Senate para ma-incorporate ang situation like that of Sen Bato (We have rules about continuous absences in Senate committees, where a senator can lose a committee membership due to such absences. But we don’t have such rules that apply to the plenary. I think we should revisit the rules of the Senate to incorporate the situation of Sen. dela Rosa),” he said in an interview after attending the homecoming of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association.

Dela Rosa has not attended Senate sessions since late last year and has reportedly gone into hiding after Jesus Crispin Remulla said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with the previous administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.

The ICC has also identified dela Rosa and Sen. Christopher Lawrence Go as “co-perpetrators” in relation to the anti-drug operations under the last administration.

Lacson noted that while senators have previously discussed potential actions regarding dela Rosa’s absence, no agreement has been reached.

“I think we should take it seriously. On Monday, pag may all-senators’ caucus, it could come up and we could have a consensus (I think we should take it seriously. On Monday, during the all-senators’ caucus, it could come up and we could have a consensus),” he said.