Minority senators tackle De Lima’s legislative agenda at Camp Crame

“…We discussed foremost the minority bloc’s legislative agenda – which bills to support and which to oppose and the way forward,” De Lima said. (Photo: Leila De Lima/ Facebook)

MANILA–The Senate minority bloc on Monday paid a visit to the detention cell of their colleague, Sen. Leila de Lima in Camp Crame, Quezon City to discuss their legislative agenda for the next five weeks.

The visit by Senators Antonio “Sony” Trillanes IV, Francis Kiko Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros and Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Monday lasted for almost an hour.

“…We discussed foremost the minority bloc’s legislative agenda – which bills to support and which to oppose and the way forward,” De Lima said.

She said that also discussed was her plan to petition the proper court to allow her to participate in the voting on major legislative measures.

According to Drilon, they would like De Lima to participate in the deliberations of the legislative agenda which were filed in the Senate.

This was agreed upon by Pangilinan, especially the “critical issues” such as the death penalty bill.

Drilon stressed that once the death penalty bill is officially filed in the Senate, they would ask the court to allow De Lima to attend the Senate session and committee hearing so that she can give her opinions, especially in the hearing and deliberation of the death penalty bill.

This was also immediately agreed upon by Pangilinan.

They also discussed various matters which she described as matters ranging “from serious stuff to mundane and funny ones.”

The neophyte senator, meanwhile, assured reporters that a destabilization plot against Pres. Rodrigo Duterte was not part of their discussion noting that “there is no such thing.”

In a separate statement, Drilon said that they had already decided that in critical matters, they would request that Sen. De Lima be allowed to participate in deliberation.

“We will petition the court. She is under custody of the court. Sen. De Lima will file a petition in the court and we will support the petition,” Drilon said.

Drilon, meanwhile, said that upon seeing De Lima, she was in high spirits.

Pangilinan, who is Acting Liberal Party (LP) president,n said that he felt like she was less stressed now because she didn’t have her iPad, laptop or cellphone with her.

“She only gets stressed when she reads the newspapers,” he quipped.