De Lima’s plea for furloughs draws lukewarm response

Senators on Monday seemed lukewarm to the request of detained Sen. Leila de Lima for Senate support on her bid to have occasional furloughs so she could cast her vote on crucial landmark legislations in the chamber.

While he said De Lima has the senators’ “sympathy,” Sen. Richard Gordon said giving their support on “matters of legality” might send a wrong signal.

Gordon said De Lima was asking for special treatment when she made the request in a letter to Senate President Aquilino Pimentel two weeks ago.

“It’s intrusion on the prerogatives of a coequal branch of government,” Gordon told reporters.

He also said De Lima had put Pimentel on the spot when the issue was made public.

Pimentel told reporters he wanted to know whether De Lima wanted a reply from him given that her letter was released to the media.

Asked about De Lima’s request that she be allowed to vote in the Senate, Pimentel said under the Senate rules, “personal presence is required before a senator can vote.”

He also said there was a decided case that stated that “when you’re under detention, expect that you also lose your right to practice your profession or to exercise your duties in connection with your occupation.”

“But through motions, the courts can be convinced of having a new way of looking at a circumstance,” Pimentel said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the Senate could not just pass a resolution because the court has legal custody on De Lima while the Philippine National Police has physical custody.

Meanwhile, three members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a group of foreign parliamentarians, went to see Pimentel as they started their mission to look into the conditions of De Lima.

Fawzia Koofi and her members will see De Lima on Wednesday in the PNP detention facility in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

“On behalf of the committee, the IPU as a body express concern over human rights violation of a member of the Senate of the Philippines which is Sen. De Lima. That’s why the assembly decided to have a mission to the Philippines so we will meet her on Wednesday to get information on her arrest,” Koofi said.