As for Uncle Sam’s boys, claiming that De Lima is being denied her guaranteed freedom, this is truly a laugh — and on them.

Do American senators and human rights groups, who cry for the immediate release not just of detained Sen. Leila de Lima but also for the immediate dropping of all charges against Maria Ressa, ever bother to try and cut through the sob stories the two make up about being politically persecuted by President Duterte?

Obviously, some American lawmakers don’t bother to even get at the truth and just swallow whatever they hear from Leila and Ressa’s overseas plaints, as well as those from their hired American lobbyists working to get the two women freed from their lawsuits.

These senators, joined by another senator chirping the same orchestrated song, claimed that the detained De Lima has not been given a chance to defend herself when in truth, the jailed senator, as well as Ressa, has been given all the chances to defend herself in the proper courtroom. The charges of libel against Ressa all come with the territory, and libel, though still criminal, is bailable.

Before these bleeding heart American senators start buying those tales of woe from the two women who usually provide their international friends with a false narrative of their legal situation, and claim to keep their doors closed to those who they say are responsible for placing their favorite alleged drug trafficker in prison and without bail, if the evidence is strong, which is what Philippine law says, these senators, who should know better, should read our laws and follow the evidence before speaking, so they don’t look foolish!

But what makes them even think that a ban on all government officials and officers and prosecutors who participated in what they say are the politically persecuted De Lima and Ressa will suddenly make government bow to these American senators?

And just what makes Leila and Ressa think that the American senators in the panel that came up with a resolution will get them free?

So, they get Sen. Edward John Markey of Massachusetts joining his colleagues, Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. They were seeking “accountability in the Philippine government” by legislating a travel ban against those responsible for the “politically motivated charges” against de Lima.

“De Lima has been the target of very troubling partisan persecution,” Markey said in his tweet.

“In an attempt to intimidate and silence voices critical of the government, De Lima has been jailed and not given the opportunity to defend herself. The Duterte administration should release her immediately,” said the senator, a Democrat like Durbin and Leahy.

These US senators must think that Filipinos see them as the all-powerful gods to whom we Filipinos must bow and kiss their feet. And because they think they are all powerful, they even call De Lima a prisoner of conscience.

The US senators’ resolution urges the government of the Philippines to guarantee the right to the freedom of the press, and to drop all the charges against Maria Ressa and Rappler.

Just to prove that these senators don’t know what they are talking about, they demand that the accused be guaranteed the right to freedom of the press and the right to defend themselves.

Ressa and her Rappler are still functioning without any censorship from officialdom and the critical articles against President Duterte get published, too.

By seeking to have all charges against Ressa dropped, these American senators are therefore calling for the Philippine officialdom to go against its Constitution and laws, since Ressa’s Rappler must be 100 percent Filipino owned. Rappler is not, since she has an American partner who gave her more money than what she had earlier put up.

As for Uncle Sam’s boys, claiming that De Lima is being denied her guaranteed freedom, this is truly a laugh — and on them, considering the fact that daily, De Lima has a diatribe against President Duterte, and it picked up by the media especially on a no-news day.

De Lima is pretty situated in her prison. No doubt she has her phone, her laptop or iPad. How else can she keep on writing her stuff and her criticisms of government and the issues of the day sent out so quickly before press time, if not done electronically?

Leila hit out recently at Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. for defending her detention.

Locsin was quoted earlier as saying that the travel ban proposed by US senators cannot free her, and De Lima quickly bared her fangs, saying “Mr. Secretary, why can’t you just be forthright and say this instead: that your President will never allow my acquittal. Remember his famous lines to me, ‘You’re finished!’ and ‘You will rot in jail!?’” she said.

Gee, Leila, but you said the same when you, as the yellow justice chief and chief political persecutor, told the opposition senators you and your partisan partner, then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, framed with trumped up charges of plunder. You said the same: Let them rot in jail.

It’s your turn Leila and Ressa. You can continue with your sob stories that are being lapped up by Uncle Sam’s boys, but they can’t help you in what you want.

And worse, Leila, the days of yellow power are over — perhaps even permanently.