MANILA, Philippines — The United States is interfering with other country’s justice system “without even investigating.”
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said this Monday after President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that included a provision that bans the entry of those involved in the detention of Senator Leila De Lima into the United States.
“It only shows they meddle with other country’s justice system without even investigating,” Sotto said in a text message.
The provision was specifically contained in the 2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill.
The “Secretary of State shall apply sub-section to foreign government officials about whom the Secretary has credible information have been involved in the wrongful imprisonment of: (1) Mustafa Kassem, an American citizen imprisoned by the Government of Egypt and whose health is failing; and (2) Senator Leila De Lima who was arrested in the Philippines in 2017,” the stipulation reads.
READ: US bans entry of those involved in De Lima detention
Asked if the Philippine Senate will make a move regarding the prohibition, Sotto said: “I’ll think about it and consult my colleagues.”
This was not the first time that Sotto slammed the move to ban the entry of those involved in De Lima’s detention into the United States.
In his earlier statement, Sotto criticized the US senators who pushed for the ban provision saying they “are not judges here in the Philippines.”
“They [US senators] are just trying to meddle when they don’t even know about [De Lima’s] case,” Sotto said.
“She is innocent until proven guilty, but those US senators are not judges here in the Philippines,” he added.
Edited by KGA
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