Detained Sen. Leila de Lima thanked Muntinlupa courts for granting her request to have an online video conference call on Feb. 3 with her 89-year-old mother, who is confined in a Naga City hospital and diagnosed with coronavirus disease COVID-19) and severe pneumonia.
On Feb. 3, Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 256 Judge Romeo Buenaventura and Branch 204 Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara, granted De Lima’s “Extremely Urgent Motion for Online Video Conference Call” on humanitarian grounds and with due regard for the urgency of the situation.
The two courts are handling De Lima's cases for conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading that were filed by the Department of Justice in 2017. She has been in detention in Camp Crame since 2017.
“The video call lasted for less than an hour. I wasn’t really able to talk to mommy because she was asleep during the duration of the call. There were occasional times when she opened her eyes for a few seconds, then ‘pikit’ ulit. But at least I was able to see her, and there was one or two instances that she recognized me,” the senator said.
She added, “Of course, I would have wanted to be there with her taking care of her, but that’s not possible under the current situation. The moment may have been brief, but I am grateful to the Court for their prompt action in allowing me to see my mom and check on her condition, albeit through virtual means.”
Besides, COVID-19 and severe pneumonia, her mom, Norma Magistrado de Lima, was also diagnosed with Non-ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) and Hypertensive Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (HASCVD).
According to the website of the Cleveland Clinic in the US, “A non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) is a type of heart attack that usually happens when your heart’s need for oxygen can’t be met. This condition gets its name because it doesn’t have an easily identifiable electrical pattern (ST elevation) like the other main types of heart attacks.”
De Lima filed a manifestation with the two Muntinlupa courts on Feb. 4, detailing what happened during the video call with her mom.
The senator also thanked the courts as they “acted justly and humanely, with due regard to humanitarian considerations and the urgency and precariousness of the situation.”
Mrs. De Lima tested positive for COVID-19 last Jan. 10 and was brought to the Villanueva-Tanchuling Maternity and General Hospital in Iriga City, Camarines Sur on Jan. 22.
However, after the pulse rate, oxygen level and other vital signs of De Lima’s mother started to drop on the night of Feb. 1, she was transferred to the NICC Doctors Hospital in Naga City the next day.
De Lima said it was important for her to urgently see her mom after she was informed of the latter’s declining health, detailing that Mommy Norma “is continuing to experience labored breathing, and is in and out of consciousness.”
Before this, De Lima issued a handwritten statement asking people to pray for the healing of her mother.
“My 89-year old Mom, who tested positive for COVID-19 three weeks ago, is now in critical condition in our local hospital in Iriga City. Her cardio-pulmonary systems now failing. I ask for prayers,” De Lima wrote.
She added, “Miss na miss ko na si mommy. Tulad ng sinabi ko na noon, gusto kong sa paglaya ko at pagkamit ng hustisya mula sa aking di-makatarungang pagkakulong, ay mapuntahan ko siya agad, mayakap at maalagaan. Marami pa akong gustong ikuwento at sabihin sa kanya. Patuloy akong umaasa’t nagdarasal.”