It is the up to the court to give Sen. Leila de Lima permission to conduct committee hearings while being detained at Camp Crame, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Friday.
PNP spokesperson Sr. Supt. Benigno Durana Jr. said police is “not in the position” to grant De Lima’s request to conduct hearings of the Senate committee on social justice, welfare and rural development, which she heads, at the Camp Crame Custodial Center.
“It’s the court who will decide on it. As to when, definitely the court will ask us for our inputs. We will provide the inputs on what are the security implications of the event if in case they will grant it,” Durana said in a press briefing.
“We cite Supreme Court ruling and we saw that first of all, we are not in a position to grant or not to grant because the court has already taken cognizance of the case,” he added.
De Lima on Friday said PNP chief Dir. Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde was “given wrong legal advice” for denying Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s request to allow the detained senator to hold committee hearings inside the premises of Camp Crame.
“Let it be stressed that Senate President Sotto, in his letter-request, is not asking that I be allowed to leave Camp Crame and attend hearings or sessions in the Senate premises,” De Lima said in a statement.
In denying Sotto’s request, Albayalde cited in his letter two Supreme Court cases including that of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who while detained was allowed to do legislative work.
“The ratio decidendi or main point in the case of Senator Trillanes, which PDG Albayalde cited in his reply to SP Sotto, is actually the recognition by the Court that a detained legislator could still “somehow accomplish legislative results” despite the limitations caused by the confinement in so far as it restrains the power of locomotion or physical movement,” De Lima said.
De Lima is detained at the Camp Crame Custodial Center since February 2017 over drug charges. /muf