Leahy can shove it

American legislators had always dangled the modest yearly assistance of the US government to get what they wanted in past administrations.

Unabated liberal democratic hypocrisy was in full throttle in the American senators’ move to impose sanctions to the country for not acceding to their brazen demand of the unconditional release of Sen. Leila de Lima and the ban on United States (US) soil of targeted Filipino officials.

The US Senate Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to a proposed bill by Democratic Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy to bar from US entry Philippine functionaries who had a hand in De Lima’s detention, which both politicians branded as “politically motivated.”

Sen. Dick Gordon believes that the motivation of the move was the heightened effort of the Democrats to collect political brownie points as the US is scheduled to hold an election next year.

The obvious target, however, is President Rody Duterte who is currently being persuaded to accept an invitation of US President Donald Trump to visit Washington.

Indications that he is unwanted will prompt the President to forego the US visit that is being arranged near the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in Santiago, Chile mid-November.

Leahy fired volleys against Rody’s spokesman Salvador Panelo for accusing the American legislators of interference, which is what his proposed measure actually is, since the demand was for the court proceedings on De Lima’s drug trafficking cases to be set aside.

The legislator from Vermont even issued a veiled threat on assistance to the country being withheld, and arrogantly riposted “Every year, the United States provides large amounts of aid to the Philippines, and I have supported that aid. I assume President (Rodrigo) Duterte’s spokesman who defended the wrongful imprisonment of Senator De Lima does not consider our aid to be ‘interfering’ in their sovereignty.”

Leahy had no qualms about sovereignty issues as he associated his one-track demand or imposition to the country of De Lima’s release to access to US aid.

American legislators had always dangled the modest yearly assistance of the US government to get what they wanted in past administrations, mainly in the previous administration’s provision of access to American forces in the country.

They had their way during the pro-US regime of former President Noynoy Aquino, but they are now having a difficult time with Rody who had diversified relations with other nations considered as US rivals.

Recently, in one of the most noteworthy observations of the relations of the US and the Philippine, a Russian media report noted that, despite decades of utter dependence on the US, the equipment of the Philippine military remains antiquated.

Leahy is also totally clueless about the legal predicament of De Lima and would have been fully enlightened had he opened his engagement with Philippine officials other than the detained senator.

Around 40 prosecution witnesses have testified against her, including former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos and Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who used to head the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police.

Rody had said the country does not need assistance with strings that seeks to meddle in domestic affairs similar to what the proposed American bill is seeking.

Leahy can take his precious American aid and shove it up he knows where.