Malacañang said yesterday it is not bothered by a provision of the United States national budget for next year banning the entry of Philippine government officials behind the wrongful detention of Sen. Leila de Lima, saying there was no credible information to prove that the legislator was a victim of political persecution.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said there is nothing the Philippine government can do since it cannot interfere with the affairs of another country.
“It’s their call. But we’re not bothered by it. That’s their process. We cannot intrude in the same way that we react when they intrude into our processes,” he said.
According to Panelo, the provision of the US national budget for 2020 said that there must be credible information before they ban any Filipino official from entering the US.
“Hindi naman just ‘those who are involved in the detention…’ Hindi naman sinabing ganoon, eh. ‘In the wrongful detention.’ You have to determine if it’s wrongful or not,” he said.
Panelo reiterated that De Lima was not wrongfully imprisoned because she was given due process.
President Donald Trump signed into law the US national budget for 2020 last Friday, which includes the ban on Philippine government officials found to have been involved in the wrongful detention of De Lima.
This was confirmed by the office of Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin, who, along with Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, sent communication to De Lima’s office confirming Trump’s approval of the spending bill which contains the provision.
“The appropriations bill did pass and was signed by the President on Friday,” Durbin’s office confirmed. (Argyll Geducos and Hannah Torregoza)