EUROPEAN lawmakers on Thursday called for the “immediate release” of Senator Leila de Lima, who was detained for her alleged involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid Prison when she was Justice Secretary.
But Malacañang told the parliamentarians to respect the circumstances that led to De Lima’s arrest.
In a joint resolution posted on the European Parliament website, the parliamentarians raised a number of issues, including the call for “the immediate release of Senator Leila M. de Lima of the Philippines and to provide her with adequate security whilst in detention.”
The motion also “urges the Filipino authorities to drop all politically-motivated charges against her.”
The lawmakers urged a close monitoring of Senator De Lima’s case and the efforts to help the government in “upholding its international human rights obligations, notably through the Framework Agreement.”
The European Parliament is the legislative body of the European Union.
Parliamentarians Barbara Lochbihler, Maria Heubuch, Heidi Hautala, Ernest Urtasun, Igor Soltes, Davor Skrlec Bronis Rope, and Bodil Valero filed a motion calling for a resolution from the European Parliament decrying De Lima’s detention.
De Lima’s case will be included in the agenda of the European Parliament, which will also zero in on the breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The parliamentarians noted that the Philippines and the European Union have longstanding diplomatic, economic, cultural and political relations.
But the parliamentarians resolved to call on the European Union to “support the establishment at the UN Human Rights Council of an independent international investigation into the unlawful killings and other violations by the Philippines in the context of President Duterte’s ‘war on drugs.’”
The parliamentarians said there are serious concerns that the offenses Senator De Lima has been charged with are almost entirely fabricated, and that Amnesty International regards her as a prisoner of conscience.
But Malacañang disagreed.
“They simply seem to have a misunderstanding of what is happening to De Lima. The lady is being charged with crime, not political persuasions. I think they ought to respect that,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella told reporters.
He also assured the European Parliament that the drug charges against De Lima were not politically motivated.
