Presidential spokesperson and concurrent Presidential
Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo got a mouthful from a US senator for his
comment saying that Washington is interfering with Philippines’ internal
affairs over the proposed move to ban government official that has something to
do with the imprisonment of Senator Leila De Lima.
"Every year,
the United States provides large amounts of aid to the Philippines, and I have
supported that aid. I assume President [Rodrigo] Duterte's spokesman who
defended the wrongful imprisonment of Senator De Lima does not consider our aid
to be 'interfering' in their sovereignty," Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont
said in a statement to ABS-CBN News.
"Our aid is
not a blank check, and when Philippine officials abuse the justice system for
the purpose of political retribution, we have a responsibility to respond."
 |
| Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont slams Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Salvador Panelo (photo credit to ABS-CBN News) |
It was Leahy together with Sen. Dick Durbin of
Illinois,that initiated the amendment in
the 2020 State and Foreign Operations (SFOPs) appropriations bill to deny entry
of any Philippine government officials involved in Leila De Lima's imprisonment.
The Presidential
spokesperson made a statement that US Senate's move is a "brazen"
attempt to intrude into the Philippines' internal affairs, saying it treats
Manila as an "inferior state."
"It seeks to
place pressure upon our independent institutions thereby effectively
interfering with our nation’s sovereignty," he said.
"It is an
outright disrespect to our people's clamor for law and order. It treats our
country as an inferior state unqualified to run its own affairs," he
added.
Panelo says that the
opposition senator De Lima is not a "prisoner of conscience," arguing
that her case underwent proper proceedings.
"She is being
afforded all her rights to due process and has in fact availed of available
legal remedies under our procedural rules," Panelo said.
"We continue
to mind our own business, as each nation has enough problems that its
government should focus on. We hope that the Senate panel of the United States
of America shares the same policy," he said.
Political
persecution
Since February
2017 up until now, De Lima is detained in Camp Crame in Quezon city on charges
of allegedly pocketing drug payoffs from convicted crime lords when she
was still justice secretary
De Lima is not entitled to bail and if found guilty faces
a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
De Lima from her detention
cell, thanks the US senators and other defenders of justice and democracy "for
reminding us that the world is still watching.”
"The proposal
of US Senators Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy to impose a visa ban against
abusive Philippine government officials is a clear message that impunity, while
remaining unchecked in our country, may find an end in the 'home of the brave
and the land of the free,'" she said.
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Report from ABS-CBN News
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