De Lima dismayed over court’s denial for her to join Comelec e-rally

Detained Senator Leila de Lima on Friday lamented the decision of a local court rejecting her motion to join the Commission on Elections (Comelec's) e-rally on Saturday.

De Lima, a reelectionist in the May 2022 polls, said prohibiting her from joining the e-rally “stripped her off of her right to communicate her platform to the Filipino public.”

“I wasn’t asking for special treatment, hence, did not ask for permission to leave the premises of the PNP Custodial Center. Still, the court junked my motion to allow [my] participation in COMELEC’s e-rally through videoconferencing,” De Lima said in a statement.

“Given my situation, I just wanted to avail of this opportunity to freely communicate my platform to the Filipino electorate,” she added.

The Comelec e-rally channel on Facebook grants online airtime to candidates for president, vice president, senator and party-list groups ranging from three to 10 minutes.

On February 22, De Lima filed a very urgent motion requesting that she be allowed to participate through video conference call in the scheduled e-rally on February 26 being organized by the Comelec.

She said her request hinges on “provisions of law protecting a bona fide candidate’s right, during the election period, to be free from any form of harassment and discrimination,” and to the “equal opportunity for public service, including access to media time and space, and the equitable right to reply, for public information campaigns and fora among candidates.”

However, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 denied De Lima’s request “for the main reason that De Lima, on account of her current detention, cannot be accorded the same treatment given to other candidates,” the senator said in her statement.

A staunch critic of the Duterte administration and its policies, De Lima said the e-rallies “are in accordance with the mandate of the Comelec to ensure the holding of free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections through fair election practices under Republic Act No. 9006, including through the provision of Comelec Space and Time.”

“As a bona fide and serious candidate, I just want to avail of every reasonable and lawful means under prevailing election laws and Comelec rules and regulations to promote my re-election bid, as to compensate for my physical handicaps as a Person Deprived of Liberty (PDL). I therefore don’t understand the further curtailment of my rights,” she said.

De Lima has been in detention for five years on drug-related charges. She was acquitted in one of the three cases due to lack of evidence while the other two cases are still pending.

De Lima has since described her detention as political persecution. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News