De Lima wants to join Senate proceedings from her cell

Senator Leila De Lima INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Even the prison walls won’t cow the most vocal critic of President Duterte into submission.

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima, whose stinging criticisms of the President made her a target of political retribution, said her legal team was looking into options to let her participate in the Senate as it resumes its regular sessions on Tuesday.

Undaunted by her detention on what she described as “sham charges,” the feisty lawmaker on Monday said she was keen on carrying out the mandate given to her by more than 14 million Filipinos who voted for her in the May 2016 elections “even through remote or electronic means.”

“Apart from my rights as a duly elected senator, I have to invoke my rights as a political prisoner as provided and protected under Philippine laws and jurisprudence, as well as the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights,” she said.

De Lima said this was not the first time a detained senator had sought permission to participate in crafting measures pending in the Senate.

She noted that then Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. allowed Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who was then detained also in Camp Crame for rebellion, to take part in the Senate sessions through teleconference in 2008.

Former Sen. Justiniano Montano, who was indicted for multiple murders in the 1950s, was granted bail to attend to his responsibilities as a lawmaker, according to De Lima.

Making her voice heard

De Lima said she wanted to make her voice heard in the plenary debates on important pieces of legislation such as the pending bills seeking to revive the death penalty, postpone the barangay elections and lower the criminal age responsibility.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said De Lima is a duly-elected senator who “has every right to participate in the proceedings in the Senate.”