Think about it for a moment. The US is implementing a measure to ban Philippine government officials on the basis of someone’s opinion that they had “persecuted” Philippine Senator Leila De Lima. This is a position taken regardless of what any Filipino court has so far ruled. It just shows how, to Americans, the Philippines still remains a quaint little colonial outpost.
De Lima is a practicing lawyer in the Philippines. She is essentially regarding the US as a power higher than any Philippine court!
In fact, back in June 2018, no less than the Philippine Supreme Court upheld De Lima’s arrest over drug charges.
The high court denied “with finality” De Lima’s motion for reconsideration and said it would no longer entertain future pleadings or motions.
“…No substantial arguments were presented to warrant the reversal of the questioned decision,” the court said in a notice.
In reaching out to the United States to coerce the Philippine government into releasing her from detention, De Lima is, in effect, looking to a foreign power to usurp the authority of the Philippines’ highest court. This is unacceptable behaviour coming from not just a lawyer but a Philippine Senator. Indeed, any Filipino lawyer who publicly endorses the position De Lima takes should also be held in contempt.
The time has come for Filipinos to assert their independence from their former colonial masters and resist any of the meddling and coercion from a foreign power that people like De Lima and her followers are calling for.
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