Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III reminded United States lawmakers that the Philippines is not their colony anymore, pointing out that they cannot interfere with the government’s jurisdiction.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday reminded the lawmakers of the United States that the Philippines is not their colony anymore pointing out that they cannot interfere with the Philippine government’s jurisdiction.
This comes after US Senate panel passed a resolution asking the Philippine government to release Senator Leila De Lima and drop the charges against journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.
“We are a sovereign nation. We have our own judicial processes. What will they say if we pass a resolution asking the US to put in jail all abortionists in their country considering abortion is illegal in ours?” Sotto asked.
“Criminal laws are territorial and are different in every country. Sovereign states have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide the violation of their own laws. We are not a colony anymore,” he added.
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Senator Dick Durbin announced on Twitter that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed Senator Ed Markey’s resolution backing the release of De Lima and the dropping of cases against Ressa.
“Glad to see Senate Foreign Relations Committee pass Sen. Markey’s resolution, that I proudly cosponsored, calling on the government of the Philippines to end the troubling detention of Filipina Senator Leila de Lima and harassment of Rappler journalist Maria Ressa,” Durbin said.
This social media post was shared by Markey claiming that De Lima has been detained for standing for human rights.
“For over 1,000 days now, Sen. Leila de Lima has languished in prison. Her crime: standing for human rights and good governance in the Philippines. Today’s passage of my resolution out of Senate Foreign Relations Committee demonstrates broad support for accountability in her case and with others,” said Durbin.
Recently, the US Senate Appropriations Committee has passed an amendment blocking the entry of any Philippine government officials who are involved in the detention of De Lima. Durbin was the one who introduced the said amendment.
