Danny Lim not allowed to go to UP forum

(Update 2:30 p.m.) Senatorial bet Danilo Lim on Thursday failed to show up in a forum at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City where he was invited after the Philippine National Police refused to take him out of detention. Lim, a former Army general who is detained at the Philippine National Police custodial center at Camp Crame, was supposed to be one of the guest speakers at the forum on military and social change in UP Diliman. On Wednesday, a Makati court allowed him to temporarily leave his prison cell and attend the forum. But Lim failed to appear at his speaking engagement reportedly because his guards would not let him out "without orders from their [police] superiors," according to Francisco Nemenzo, a former UP president and also a speaker at the forum. "I just got a phone call from Danny Lim, and he was extending his apology to all of us that the PNP, in defiance of court orders, was not allowed to join us," Nemenzo said. According to Nemenzo, "at the same time the court permission was given, all superiors were not available." Lim's spokesperson, Belle Enriquez added that the former Army general was not allowed to attend the forum also because the PNP reportedly could not provide enough security for him. "I've never heard anything as flimsy as that," said Enriquez, who attended the UP event on Lim's behalf, and read out his prepared speech. Phone calls by GMANews.TV to PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina remained unanswered as of posting time. Political analyst Clarita Carlos, also a speaker at the forum, expressed her disappointment over the PNP's refusal to release Lim. "We are still hostages to the prisons handed to us by the US. The Americans have socialized us [in such a way] that the military should not attend public symposia like this," Carlos said in her speech. In her speech, Carlos said the military ruling over a nation would be no different from having a civilian leader, thus having no significant effect on social change. Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, military spokesman, was also a guest speaker at the event, where he outlined the military's role, especially in the coming elections. Earlier in the day, independent presidential candidate Sen. Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal threw her support to Lim, a senatorial candidate of the Liberal Party. [See: Jamby throws support behind Danny Lim] Lim stands accused of rebellion in connection with the November 2007 Peninsula Manila hotel siege. He is also facing mutiny charges before a military court in connection with the February 2006 coup. - RSJ, GMANews.TV