Palace on call for De Lima’s release: Nonsense
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday dismissed as nonsense an American senator’s call for the Philippine government to free Sen. Leila de Lima from detention.
In a tweet posted on Saturday, US Sen. Marco Rubio sought the release of De Lima, saying she has been in prison on “bogus charges.”
“Senator Leila de Lima, a critic of extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s war on drugs, has spent the last two years in prison on bogus charges. I call on the Philippine government to unconditionally release her. #FreeLeilaNow #ExpressionNOTOppression,” Rubio tweeted.
“We don’t respond to nonsense,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
De Lima, who led a probe on President Duterte’s war on narcotics, was arrested and jailed in 2017 for allegedly asking money from drug convicts to fund her senatorial campaign and for supposedly allowing drug trade to proliferate in the national penitentiary when she was justice secretary.
De Lima has denied the accusations, saying the charges filed against her were politically-motivated.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said it is unfair to keep the cases against De Lima hanging. – Pia Lee-Brago
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