De Lima slams Sotto for excluding her in online Senate sessions: 'Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan. Kung gusto, hahanap ng paraan!'

Photo files from CNN Philippines

Senator Leila De Lima takes a swipe at Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and other Senate leaders for excluding her to join Senate sessions via teleconference starting May 4.

For De Lima, her exclusion, which will be formalized under Senate rules to be adopted next week is nothing but a “petty politics.”



“SP (Senate President) Sotto’s statement that the jurisdiction of the courts and the PNP over my person prevents me from participating in Senate sessions via teleconferencing is completely and absolutely misinformed,” she said on April 30.

She stressed that Supreme Court is clear that she can still perform her duties as a senator as long as she’s detained at Camp Crame.

De Lima believes that Senate did not finalize the rules on holding sessions via Teleconferencing in March so she could not participate in the special sessions.

“Now, there is pressure to amend the Rules to allow members to participate in hearings and sessions via teleconferencing and they make up an inexistent rule or reason that supposedly prevents me from doing even that. I reckon that if I were not a member of the opposition there would have been no ifs and buts in allowing me to participate remotely, just like everybody else, under the proposed new rules,” the lady senator said


De Lima said, regardless of her political affiliation, her colleagues should have allowed her to participate.

“Malinaw na ayaw lang talaga ng mga nasa kapangyarihan na ipalahok ako sa mga deliberasyon sa Senado. Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan. Kung gugustuhin, hahanap ng paraan. Di ba?” De Lima explained

The senator was detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame over drug-related charges.

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