US Republican Sen. Marco Rubio urged the Duterte administration to free Senator Leila De Lima from being detained calling the charges against the latter as “bogus.”
Rubio believes that De Lima was only got detained because of being a critic of the Duterte administration.
“Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, a critic of EJKs under Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs,” has spent the last two years in prison on bogus charges,” Rubio said.
“I call on the Philippine government to unconditionally release her,” Rubio said.
This is not the first time that Rubio supported Senator De Lima.
Last April, Rubio together with other five US Senators urged the government to drop its charges against De Lima and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.
“The Philippines is a close ally, but this bipartisan resolution makes it clear that the US Congress seeks an immediate improvement in the government’s behavior and the end of efforts to weaponize the rule of law against brave individuals like Senator Leila de Lima and Maria Ressa,” the resolution reads.
Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, a critic of extrajudicial killings under Duterte's so-called “war on drugs,” has spent the last two years in prison on bogus charges. I call on the Philippine government to unconditionally release her #FreeLeilaNow #ExpressionNOTOppression pic.twitter.com/B3lsNOnRtx
— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) September 20, 2019
The lady Senator is not yet releasing a statement on Rubio’s tweet.
De Lima is detained for her alleged involvement in the illegal practices in the national penitentiary during her term as the Department of Justice Secretary.
However, the Senator denied the accusations against her saying that she’s only being targeted by the President because of her statements against the current administration’s policies.