Senate President Vicente Sotto III said that the America entry ban against the accusers of Senator Leila De Lima is not included in the 2020 budget of the US.
On a short tweet, Sotto said that many people believed about the news that the said entry-ban proposed by two American Senators was included in the budget signed by US President Donald Trump.
“Wala naman Pala sa US 2020 budget yun so called ban. Ang daming nabola!” said Sotto.
Wala naman Pala sa US 2020 budget yun so called ban. Ang daming nabola!
— Tito Sotto (@sotto_tito) December 28, 2019
Sotto was probably reacting to the claims of blogger RJ “Thinking Pinoy” Nieto who said that the US Entry ban against De Lima’s accusers is the “biggest fake news story of 2019”.
The Senate President is one of the politicians who retweeted the said article of Nieto.
According to Nieto, the said provision is not existing in the final version signed by Trump last week.
“The nearest thing related to the de Lima issue that can be found in the final text is in Section 7031(c)(1)(A), which reads:
“Officials of foreign governments and their immediate family members about whom the Secretary of State has credible information have been involved in significant corruption, including corruption related to the extraction of natural resources, or a gross violation of human rights shall be ineligible for entry into the United States.” said Nieto.
“But here’s the thing: it’s standard text (READ: not an amendment) in at least four other US Budget Laws (2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018) [2,3,4,5].
So what amendment were US Senators Durbin and Leahy, along with 3% of the Philippines, raving about?” he added.
However, Senator De Lima insisted that the entry-ban was included in the 2020 US budget and she even taught Nieto how to find it.
This is what De Lima said on her series of tweets:
Let me summarize in 4 simple steps:
Step 1. Look at the Final Bill, which refers to the Explanatory Statement.
Step 2. Now, look at the Explanatory Statement, which makes reference to the House and Senate SFOPs bill Reports.
— Leila de Lima (@SenLeiladeLima) December 28, 2019
“Step 1. Look at the Final Bill, which refers to the Explanatory Statement.
Step 2. Now, look at the Explanatory Statement, which makes reference to the House and Senate SFOPs bill Reports.
Step 4. Go back to the Explanatory Statement and ask yourself—does it specifically negate the language you found on page 93? You will see that it does not.
Therefore, the entry ban is in effect.
In short, it’s not fake news.
— Leila de Lima (@SenLeiladeLima) December 28, 2019
Step 3. Look at the Senate SFOPs bill Report, specifically top of page 93. There you will see what you are looking for. It’s the “Prohibition on Entry” provision which specifically mentions, and made applicable to, my situation.
Step 4. Go back to the Explanatory Statement and ask yourself—does it specifically negate the language you found on page 93? You will see that it does not. Therefore, the entry ban is in effect. In short, it’s not fake news.”