MALACAÑANG defended Sunday the Philippine National Police (PNP) for barring visiting Liberal International (LI) President Juli Minoves from seeing detained Senator Leila De Lima at the Custodial Center in Camp Crame on Saturday.
LI is a political international federation for liberal political parties
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said there was no need to put political color on the issue.
"The Philippine National Police (PNP) has sufficiently explained its side on the issue," he said in a statement.
The Palace official said authorities were strictly following protocols in the PNP Custodial Center.
"It is unfortunate that the name of Mr. Juli Minoves, President of Liberal International, was not included in the list of approved visitors scheduled to see Senator Leila De Lima on that day," he said.
But he said Minoves' companions were allowed to enter the detention facility and "see the good senator" because their names were on the list.
"There is no need to add political color to an issue which has none," he stressed.
De Lima, a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, has been arrested in February for her alleged involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison when she was still the secretary of the Department of Justice under the Aquino government. She has been denying the allegation.
De Lima's Liberal Party is a member of LI. (SDR/VoxPop Philippines)