PHL envoy meets US lawmakers seeking De Lima release

WASHINGTON - Two US lawmakers who called for the release of Senator Leila De Lima sought a meeting with Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

In their meeting, Romualdez said he updated Senators Ed Markey and Dick Durbin on the latest developments in the case of De Lima, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte who has been in detention for two years.

The case of news website Rappler and its CEO, Maria Ressa, was also taken up in the meeting, Romualdez said.

Durbin was one of the five senators who filed a resolution in the US Senate condemning De Lima's imprisonment. They also supported a ban in America against Philippine government officials involved in her detention.

In a resolution, US Senators Marco Rubio, Markey, Durbin, Marsha Blackburn, and Chris Coons condemned the arrest of De Lima, saying she is a "prisoner of conscience, detained solely on account of her political views and the legitimate exercise of her freedom of expression." —KG, GMA News