Duterte belittles US Senate panel ban vs PH officials

MANILA, Philippines—”Hilaw pa ‘yan.”  (It’s still raw)

This was how President Rodrigo Duterte downplayed on Tuesday night a US Senate committee approval of an amendment that would deny US entry to Philippine officials involved in the “wrongful imprisonment” of opposition Senator Leila De Lima.

“Hilaw pa ‘yan (It’s still raw). When it becomes ripe and then I will say my piece,” Duterte said in his pre-departure briefing for his Russia visit.

The President noted that the move was just a mere “proposal” and has yet to be acted upon by the US Congress.

“These are just voices of the members of the committee and if that committee will report the resolution to the plenary and the plenary adopted or joined them, then that would be an act of Congress,” he said.

“I do not deal individually with a Congressman or Senator there. Hindi pa hinog ‘yan (Not yet done) … it is not an act of the state,” he added.

But when the US Senate adopted the bill, Duterte said that would be the time that he would talk to US President Donald Trump.

When asked if he’s open to also order a ban against the US Senators who pushed for the amendment, Duterte said: “Wala pa naman sila (They still have nothing). Those are proposals and proposals are what they are—simply a proposal.”

READ: Pushed in US Senate: ‘No entry’ for De Lima jailers

De Lima, a staunch Duterte critic, has been in detention at the Philippine National Police headquarters since February 2017 on charges that she was involved in the illegal drug trade.

She has denied the charges, saying they were fabricated in retaliation for her fierce criticism of Duterte’s war on drugs and monitoring of his human rights record since the time she headed the Commission on Human Rights in 2008./ac