‘Leila plea to join Senate deliberations up to courts’

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will leave to the discretion of the courts the plea of detained Sen. Leila de Lima to participate in Senate deliberations.

DOJ Undersecretary Erickson Balmes said the department would respect whatever may be the decision of the Muntinlupa City regional trial court (RTC) handling the drug trading cases against the senator.

“The matter is for the court, which now has jurisdiction over Sen. De Lima, to decide. The DOJ respects the rule of law and the separation of powers of the branches of government,” the official said in a statement.

Balmes said the DOJ would only comment on De Lima’s plea if it would be required by the court.

“We have asked our legal staff to look into law and the prevailing jurisprudence on the matter so that if our comment is asked by the court, we can comply. For now, it is still under study,” he bared.

De Lima is currently facing three separate cases of drug trading before three divisions of the Muntinlupa RTC.

De Lima yesterday launched a signature campaign calling for her release from detention.

Members of the Free Leila Movement is aiming to gather at least one million signatures and submit it to the Supreme Court for De Lima, who is currently detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

The cases for sale and trading of illegal drugs and liability of government officials under Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act) were assigned to RTC Branch 204 Judge Juanita Guerrero, Branch 205 Judge Amelia Fabros-Corpuz and Branch 206 Judge Patria ManalastasDe Leon.

De Lima is seeking occasional furlough for purposes of voting on crucial pieces of legislation, which she said is her only recourse since the Supreme Court had previously ruled that detained lawmakers should not be given the privilege of attending legislative sessions and hearings.