Imee wants medical furlough for De Lima, pushes for speedy resolution of cases

Senator Imee Marcos on Friday appealed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to consider granting an extended medical furlough at home to former senator Leila de Lima after the hostage-taking incident inside Camp Crame last Sunday.

The lawmaker also joined the calls for the speedy resolution of the cases filed against the former senator.

At the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City, Marcos said they were "very worried" about the hostage crisis that had happened inside the Philippine National Police Custodial Center last Sunday and disclosed that she has been pushing for De Lima's extended medical furlough since July.

"Nu'ng July pa talagang nilalakad ko sana na magkaroon ng extended medical furlough at home si Senator De Lima kasi alam natin na mayroon siyang sakit. Pero talagang todo laban pa rin siya sa kanyang mga kaso at hindi naman tayo pwedeng manghimasok sa Judiciary. Hindi naman natin papakialaman ang justice system natin," she said.

(Since July, I have been working for Senator De Lima to have an extended medical furlough at home because we know she has an illness. She will continue fighting the cases against her and we can't interfere with the judiciary. We will not meddle with the justice system.)

"But to my mind, we should talk to the DOJ. Kararating lang ni Sec. Remulla and I'm hopeful that Sec. Boying for humanitarian reasons will listen to our plea that Sen. De Lima be considered for an extended medical furlough given that nabigyan na rin sya n'yan dati at least tulungan natin," she added.

On Monday, Atty. Filibon Tacardon, one of De Lima's legal counsel, said they are studying a possible home furlough for the former senator.

Tacardon said it was Senator Marcos who informed them that the DOJ and the PNP are offering De Lima home furlough.

Marcos then mentioned the need to immediately resolve the cases lodged against De Lima.

"In the meantime din, matagal-tagal na rin 'yung kaso. Siguro hingin na natin na bilisan ang proseso. Tulad ng sinabi ko we have three co-equal but separate branches of government neither the Executive nor the Legislative meddles with the Judiciary," she said.

"But having said that, I think the request of Senator De Lima, as well as the need of the prosecution to speed up these cases, is evident and is desired by all," she added.

De Lima, a former Justice secretary and a staunch critic of the Duterte administration, has been detained at the PNP Custodial Center since February 2017 over her alleged involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison. She has repeatedly denied the allegations.

One of the three drug charges against her has already been junked by the Muntinlupa court in February last year.

In May and April, respectively, former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa recanted their allegations against her.—AOL, GMA News