US lawmakers visit De Lima in detention
(FILE) Former senator Leila de Lima.
MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday said a delegation of lawmakers from the United States was finally allowed to visit her on Friday at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center inside Camp Crame where she remains detained on drug charges.
De Lima said U.S. Senator Edward Markey (Democrat-Massachusetts), Rep. Alan Lowenthal (Democrat-California), Rep. Donald Sternoff Beyer, Jr. (Democrat, Virginia), and Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (Republican, American Samoa) were finally allowed to visit her on Friday noon.
“The visit of the US delegation of lawmakers led by Sen. Edward J. Markey finally happened yesterday around noon,” De Lima said in a statement on Saturday.
De Lima also said she was grateful for the visit of the lawmakers “for their utmost concern about my plight and their support for my struggle as a prisoner of conscience.”
“I was very much uplifted and filled with a renewed strength and sense of purpose by their show of warm and gracious solidarity. I wish them safe travels in their other missions to come to the aid of and offer support to all human rights defenders the world over.
The delegation was earlier not allowed to visit the detained former senator due to a lack of court permission required by the PNP.
“Not even the US Embassy was notified of such an additional requirement, after already being given the impression that there was no technical reason for the PNP to deny their request and for the visit not to push through,” she said.
But the delegation were finally allowed to visit after the Department of Justice (DOJ) allowed De Lima’s urgent motion for the court’s approval of the visit.
“To their credit, the DOJ no longer opposed my motion. For this kind gesture, I am thankful to the Panel of Prosecutors and the Secretary of Justice,” she said.
De Lima, a staunch critic of the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, has been in detention since February 2017 over what she repeatedly branded as “trumped-up” drug charges.
On Tuesday, August 16, De Lima marked her 2,000th day of incarceration.
READ: De Lima on her 2,000th day in jail: Proof of ‘broken’ justice system
