Vice President Leni Robredo believes that the American politicians have the right to criticize the Philippine government after the US Senate panel asked for the release of Senator Leila De Lima.
“Iyon, karapatan nilang gumawa ng suhestiyon; karapatan din natin na magdesisyon. Pero para pigilan natin sila sa pagpasa nito, wala din iyon sa ating kapangyarihan,” she said on her radio show, “BISErbisyong Leni.”
“Kasi nasa kanila naman iyon kung anong gusto nila…‘di ba… kung anong polisiya iyong gusto nilang itulak,” she added.
Several American senators said that Senator Leila De Lima was only detained because of her “political views” and exercising “her freedom of expression”.
Senator Ed Markey on a twitter post believes that De Lima was only detained because of “standing for human rights and good governance in the Philippines”.
Meanwhile, the Palace criticized the actions of American politicians.
“It is a brazen and heedless affront against the dignity not only of the Philippine Government but of our country’s sovereignty as well. It is an undisguised and outrageous intrusion to a sovereign state. There can be no excuse for the US Senate Committee not to know that the Philippines has long ceased to be a colony of the United States,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.