Palace hits IPU over plan to send court observers
MALACAÑANG on Saturday scored the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) plan to send a trial observer to monitor and report on the proceedings against detained Sen. Leila de Lima over drug allegations.
In a statement, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the IPU cannot interfere with the internal affairs of the Philippines.
“The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)’s recommendation to send an observer to monitor the case of Senator Leila de Lima is a classic example of bullying. We should stand up to this kind of meddling into our domestic affairs,” Andanar said.
“Their intent is not to merely observe de Lima’s trial by our laws, but to meddle in our democratic as well as judicial processes,” he added.
Andanar said, “Over and over, pronouncements from the IPU portray the Philippines as a lawless nation when there is abundant evidence to the contrary.”
In its committee report released on Wednesday, the IPU said an observer is necessary to ensure a fair trial for De Lima.
It again called for the senator’s release “in the belief that there is no evidence to justify” the charges against her.
The IPU also said authorities involved should “ensure that due process is followed” and that there should be “proper assessment of evidence presented” by both the prosecution and the defense.
“Should the criminal cases against Senator de Lima proceed, the delegation recommends that an IPU trial observer should moni- tor and report on respect for fair trial standards,” the organization said in its report.
“The delegation considers it of the utmost importance that an IPU trial observer then monitor and report on respect for due process in the legal proceedings,” it added.
De Lima has been detained on drug-related charges since February for allegedly receiving money from the illegal drug trade in the national penitentiary during her stint as Justice secretary.
She is facing drug charges in three separate branches of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court.
The senator, a staunch administration critic, has repeatedly dismissed the charges against her as “political persecution.”
A delegation of the IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians visited de Lima in her detention cell in May.