US Senator Durbin vows continued support for De Lima

A United States senator now occupying key positions in the US Senate has vowed to continuously support Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, who is currently detained on drug-related charges.

In a tweet on Sunday, Illinois Senator Richard Durbin described De Lima's arrest as "unjust & politically-motivated." De Lima is a vocal critic of the Duterte administration.

"And as the four year anniversary of your unjust & politically-motivated arrest approaches, I want to assure you that I will never stop supporting your fight for human rights in the Philippines," Durbin said.

The American lawmaker was replying to De Lima's tweet congratulating him and Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy for getting the Senate Majority Whip and Senate Pro Tempore posts, respectively.

As Senate Majority Whip, Durbin is the third-highest ranking member of the majority party in the US Senate. He will also head the Senate Judiciary committee.

In a speech in January last year, Durbin called on the Philippine government to give De Lima a "quick and credible" trial. He also called President Rodrigo Duterte an autocratic leader.

Then-presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, in response, said Durbin's remarks only exposed his “abject ignorance of what due process is” and a nation’s sovereignty.

A month prior or in December 2019, Duterte ordered an entry ban on Durbin and Patrick Leahy to the Philippines after the two introduced a provision in the US 2020 federal budget prohibiting the entry of Philippine government officials involved in De Lima's detention.

De Lima has repeatedly denied the accusation against her, which was that she financially benefited from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison when she was head of the Department of Justice. —KBK, GMA News