De Lima camp hoping court would grant furlough request

Detained Sen. Leila de Lima alights from the police coaster to attend a hearing at the Muntinlupa City Hall of Justice on Friday, May 18. Photo from the office of Sen. Leila de Lima

The camp of detained Sen. Leila de Lima remains hopeful that the senator would be allowed by the court to attend her son’s graduation rites next month.

During Friday’s hearing, Judges Amelia Corpuz and Lorna Navarro of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 205 and 206 only asked for the prosecutors to comment on De Lima’s motion for furlough.

In addition, the court asked the senator’s camp to submit the schedule and program of commencement exercises of San Beda – Alabang College of Law, of which her son Vincent would be graduating on June 3.

The senator said allowing her would make her “to share this joyous moment with her son and family” and “to affirm her support as he takes the bar exams in November 2018.”

De Lima’s counsel, Atty. Filibon Tacardon, said the court was likely to grant her request as “a graduation of family member is regarded as a milestone in every Filipino family.”

On her motions, De Lima cited how the Fifth Division of Sandiganbayan allowed his fellow detainee at Camp Crame, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, to attend the graduation of his son Julian Emilio in March 2015.

In that same month, the antigraft court’s First Division, however, refused to grant the furlough of former Sen. Bong Revilla Jr. to attend the graduation rites of his daughter Ma. Fraznelle Loudette.

The court had said that allowing Revilla would be “a bad precedent” and “a mockery of administration of justice.” /jpv

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