MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. Senate panel has approved an amendment to a bill that would prohibit entry to any Philippine government official proven to be involved in the “politically-motivated” imprisonment of Philippine Senator Leila de Lima.
In a tweet on Friday, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin welcomed the Senate appropriations committee’s approval of the amendment he proposed with Senator Pateick Leahy in the Fiscal Year 2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill.
“Good to see the Senate Appropriations Committee pass my amendment with @SenatorLeahy (US Senator Patrick Leahy) today to prohibit entry to any Philippine Government Officials involved in the politically motivated imprisonment of Filipina Senator Leila de Lima in 2017,” he said.
Good to see the Senate Appropriations Committee pass my amendment with @SenatorLeahy today to prohibit entry to any Philippine Government Officials involved in the politically motivated imprisonment of Filipina Senator Leila de Lima in 2017. We must #FreeLeilaNow.
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) September 26, 2019
“We must #FreeLeilaNow,” he added.
Durbin has called on the Philippine government to release De Lima through a resolution he earlier filed with four other U.S. senators.
De Lima, a fierce critic of the Duterte administration has been detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center inside Camp Crame in Quezon City on drug charges for over two years.
The senator has repeatedly denied the allegations against her. /muf