Serves them right

Choosing De Lima as a rallying point of the Democrat senators to give their 2020 bid a boost was a wrong move.

Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy appears to be shooting sparks over the recent directive of President Rody Duterte banning him and colleague Richard Durbin from entering the country.

The two meddling politicians initiated a resolution in the United States 2020 budget that sought to bar from entering the US Filipino officials responsible for what they claim as “wrongful imprisonment” of Sen. Leila de Lima.

In retaliation, Rody ordered both senators immediately restricted from entering the Philippines, while considering to impose visa requirements on Americans before they can visit the country.

Filipinos have the unfair deal of lining up or waiting for weeks on end just to secure a travel permission to the United States, while US citizens can freely enter the country without the need to present any document for a certain period.

Now, Leahy is leery, and in a statement, he even referred to Maria Ressa, founder of online news outfit Rappler, as a victim of a “crackdown.”

“And rather than try to silence a journalist who has bravely dared to expose official corruption and abuse, it should recognize (her) as a courageous Filipino exercising her right of free expression,” the statement read.

It continued: “Rather than responding by irrationally threatening to deny visas to American citizens, the Duterte government should either release Senator De Lima immediately or provide her the fair, public trial she is entitled to.”

Rody’s spokesman Sal Panelo had long addressed the issue on Ressa as she is undergoing court proceedings and is not the subject of any repressive action from the government.

Panelo said Rody’s decision to impose a travel ban on both senators was meant to remind other countries that they cannot dictate upon the Philippines, which is an “independent and sovereign state.”

“No other state can dictate upon our officials, judges and justices the method upon which we enforce or interpret our laws vis-à-vis those who are believed to have committed a violation against the same,” Panelo, who is also the chief legal counsel, noted.

De Lima is a suspected drug offender and is not a prisoner of conscience as she claims often. She has been detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City since February 2017 following her supposed involvement in the rampant narcotics trade inside the national penitentiary when she was still Justice secretary.

The court ruled to arrest De Lima based on sufficient evidence that proves her links to illegal drugs, which was an action upheld by the Supreme Court.

Accordingly, the Palace said it will not be caught pressured by other states since that is tantamount to interference in the Philippines’ established justice system, which “shall be reciprocated in accordance with our municipal law, as well as public international law or the law of the nations.”

Panelo then warned that the Duterte government might be compelled to require visa applications for all US citizens who wish to visit the Philippines in case Washington denies entry to Filipino officials linked to De Lima’s arrest.

As for the possible visa imposition on US visitors, the government is only after leveling the equation.

Americans are very fortunate because they do not need to apply for a visa, while Filipinos have a difficult time getting a US visa. They have become too privileged, according to Panelo.

Panelo said the President would not hesitate to issue an executive order that would require all US citizens to secure a visa before they can go to the Philippines.

Choosing De Lima as a rallying point of the Democrat senators to give their 2020 bid a boost was a wrong move as it only gives the impression of doing the drug cartel a favor.