Palace: EU resolution supporters misunderstand De Lima’s situation

Those who have been pushing for the European Parliament resolution calling for the immediate release of Sen. Leila de Lima have a “misunderstanding of what’s happening to [her],” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Thursday.

“The lady is being charged with crime – not political persuasions,” he said. “So I think they ought to respect that.”

Abella issued the statement before the European Parliament adopted the resolution early evening (Philippine time).

The resolution was adopted in a plenary sitting by the European Parliament of the European Union, noting that the EU had ties with the Philippines since 1964, when it was still known as the European Economic Community.

Besides calling for De Lima’s release, the resolution “strongly condemns the high number of extrajudicial killings” in the Philippines and urged the EU to take steps to stop the human rights abuses there. It also rejected the reinstatement of the death penalty.

In calling for the senator’s release, the resolution noted that there were “serious concerns” that charges filed against De Lima were “almost entirely fabricated.” /atm