DOJ rejects US senators’ call to release De Lima

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Leila De Lima can only be released upon acquittal and not upon the prodding of foreign politicians, said Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Guevarra was reacting to US Senator Patrick Leahy’s statement that the Philippine government should release De Lima, instead of “irrationally threatening to deny visas to American citizens.”

“I wish Sen. Leahy and his four other colleagues in the US Senate know that much of our constitutional law and rules on criminal procedure had their origin in US law. I also wish they know that Sen. De Lima’s indictment was upheld by the Philippine Supreme Court, and that she has been freely exercising all the rights of an accused in a fair and public trial,” Guevarra said.

He added that the US senators “also ought to know that Sen. De Lima can only be released upon an acquittal, and not at any time upon pressure exerted by foreign politicians who do not represent the People of the Philippines.”

The Justice chief added that the US Senator’s legal staff can even come to the Philippines and “pore over the evidence presented in court instead of relying on so-called reports which are at best secondary evidence and at worst, multiple hearsay.”

The reports Guevarra was referring to are the findings of various human rights organizations, the US State Department and the United Nations.

Guevarra said De Lima’s trial “is proceeding at a normal pace, given all the circumstances obtaining.”

De Lima has been tagged in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP). Her cases are pending in three courts at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court.