Inter-Parliamentary Union in Manila to review De Lima’s detention, drug cases

MANILA, Philippines —Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union are in Manila for a fact-finding mission on Sen. Leila De Lima’s drug cases and her detention because of them.

“We are here on behalf of the IPU the Inter-Parliamentary Union - Human Rights Committee to see and assess the situation of the detention for Sen. Leila De Lima,” IPU Committee on Human Rights President Fawzi Koofi said in a recorded statement on Monday evening.

Koofi met with Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Monday. She said Pimentel, president of the administration PDP-Laban party,  has “only been cooperative with the committee.”

The IPU panel is scheduled to meet Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Senator Panfilo Lacson, and other government officials on Tuesday to gather first-hand information regarding De Lima’s case.

The committee will also visit De Lima to get information about her arrest.

The IPU is composed of elected national legislative bodies from across the world, including the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines. Among its activities is "[contributing] to the defense and promotion of human rights - an essential factor of parliamentary democracy and development."

Administration allies Pimentel and Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano have represented the Philippines at the IPU in the past. The union called for the release of Anakpawis party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran in 2007 after he was detained on rebellion charges.

IPU 'deeply concerned' about De Lima case

In a resolution adopted at the 136th IPU Assembly in Dhaka, Bangladesh held last April 1 to 5, the Committee on the Human Rights said it was “deeply concerned De Lima’s arrest, detention and accusations levied against her.”

“ Her case was presented in the IPU assembly and on behalf of the committee, the IPU as a body expressed concern over human rights violation of a member of the Senate in the Philippines which is Senator De Lima, that's why the assembly decided to have a mission to the Philippines,” Koofi said.

Last April, De Lima welcomed the IPU’s plan to visit her at her detention cell and examine the charges of illegal drug trafficking filed against her. She said the IPU would provide unbiased view of the case.

 “The IPU’s resolution to send a fact-finding mission to the Philippines in order to get a clearer view on my case is indeed a welcome development. The Senate President has likewise welcomed this, and I hope that this would happen at the soonest time,” De Lima said in a statement dispatched from the Camp Crame last April 6.

“I trust that the IPU will be able to render an objective and fair assessment not only on my case but also, most importantly, on the human rights violations committed under the government’s murderous war on drugs,” she added.

The IPU previously aired its concern over the statements made by President Rodrigo Duterte and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II “portraying De Lima as guilty even before the start of the legal proceedings, in effect flouting the principle of presumption of innocence.” It called for a right to a fair trial for the senator.

The Geneva-based IPU was established in 1889. It "works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy."