A Christmas gift for De Lima

“Pasko sa Usa ka Binilanggo” is one of my favorite Christmas songs. It brings back the memories of my childhood in Casals’ Village in Mabolo when I first heard of the song played on the radio, or sometimes sung by carolers and oftentimes by loafing lads from nearby settlements.

That was in the early 1980s, when pre-school children my age delight at being made to sit on the lap of Santa Claus under that large Christmas tree at the sparkling White Gold Superstore in the North Reclamation Area. The titos and titas of Cebu I’m sure remember such familiar Christmas holiday scenes in the 80s in Cebu.

I heard the song again after a long time the other day while attending a Christmas party at Palm Grass the Cebu Heritage Hotel. “Sa nakauban ko pa ang mahal nakong ginikanan,” went the lyrics and melody, permeating the room with the somber rhythm of Christmas for the lonely and forgotten.

I’m not even sure if “Pasko sa Usa ka Binilanggo” is the correct title of the song. A quick Google search about the song only reveals its lyrics and YouTube links. Otherwise, no other credible and important details about this iconic Bisaya Christmas song can be read online.

I told dining table friends at the party about a Christmas outreach idea for inmates inside jails in the city and province; that maybe we can send inmates Christmas greetings to tell them that they are not forgotten. We can show them God’s mercy through our humble presence in their lives this Christmas. After all, it’s the season of the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s greatest manifestation of mercy when the Holy Child born in a manger later died on the cross for our sins.

But not all those in prison are convicted persons serving terms inside. Many of them are still waiting for the conclusion of their trial. Others still are waiting for the start of their trial. Among the more prominent of them is Senator Leila de Lima. She has been under detention since February 24, 2017 or for 1,032 days already.

The latest news from the court is that the prosecution promised to submit, instead of a bank account earlier attributed to De Lima by Bilibid convicts, a report from the Anti-Money Laundering Council on the alleged drug money but “which was still being prepared at the time of the hearing.”

De Lima has been in the news again in recent months, first when her colleagues in the Senate and human rights groups called for her release. Next was when the president in one of his speeches simply stated that the charges against De Lima are true.

The most recent news about De Lima is related to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, a law in the United States which can set into motion, through a Senate resolution, the process by which the US State Department may identify foreign officials and individuals who are violators of human rights, and subject them to sanctions.

Yesterday, US President Donald Trump signed the US 2020 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill which included a provision consistent with the Magnitsky Act – banning the entry into the US of certain individuals identified as involved in the detention of Senator De Lima.

US officials cannot, of course, dictate Philippine officials on how the latter should conduct our judicial processes. But they can still slap them in the face with the following sanctions; ban their entry in the US and have their bank accounts and other assets there frozen. Ouch.