Malacañang said yesterday that the provision in the United States budget for next year banning Filipino officials involved in the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima is “true.”
Pro-Duterte blogger RJ Nieto, also known as blogger Thinking Pinoy, had earlier said that news about the provision was “as fake as fake news gets” as the prohibition entry was “nowhere to be found” in the final version of the measure signed by US President Donald Trump.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Philippine Ambassador to the US Babes Romualdez informed him that the travel ban is real.
“I was talking to Ambassador Babes Romualdez sinasabi niyang chineck daw nila ‘yung batas, meron nga raw. Totoo ‘yung ban,” he said.
However, Panelo said it did not matter whether the news about the travel ban against Filipino officials is true or not.
“Totoo man o hindi, it doesn’t matter to us. What’s important is if they ban any government official, then we will require ‘yung kukunin ng visa and ‘yung pag-ban ng dalawang senador,” he said.
The Palace official added that the provision and the Philippines’ response to it would unlikely have a negative effect on the relations between the two countries.
“Wala namang epekto ‘yan, eh. Basta ang ayaw lang namin ‘yung pinapakialaman yung proseso natin,” Panelo said. (Argyll Geducos)
