MANILA – American Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts was added to the list of United States lawmakers who were barred from entering the Philippines for calling for the release of Sen. Leila de Lima.
“Yes [the ban is extended] to Markey,” Panelo said in a message to the media on Wednesday.
Panelo said Markey was included in the ban for supporting the travel restriction against officials involved in the detention of De Lima.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier banned US Senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy from entering the country for calling for de Lima’s freedom from detention.
Markey, Durbin and Leahy are three of the 11 sponsors of Senate Resolution 142 passed by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee calling for the release of De Lima from detention.
Curiously, however, the entry ban is not yet extended to eight other US senators who sponsored the resolution namely Marco Rubio, Marsha Blackburn, Chris Coons, Jeff Merkley, Tina Smith, Brian Schatz, Dianne Feinstein and Benjamin Cardin.
US President Donald Trump has signed into law the 2020 national budget, which includes the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Bill 2020 where a clause banning Philippine officials who detained De Lima is included.
President Duterte retaliated by ordering an entry ban against Durbin and Leahy and threatening to require Americans to secure visas before coming to the Philippines.
Panelo has said the possible change in visa rules for Americans is the administration’s way of resisting attempts by foreigners to meddle in the Philippines’ processes./PN
