SEN. Loren Legarda has extended her medical leave for two more days, Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. said.
Bantug said Legarda filed a leave extension covering Monday, Oct. 12, and Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Legarda has been on medical leave since Aug. 3, after seeking permission to undergo medical treatment in France. Her absence has now stretched for more than two months.
The senator previously denied that her medical leave was connected to the Office of the Ombudsman’s investigation into alleged irregularities involving solar power projects involving her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste.
Meanwhile, Legarda called for stronger safeguards against the exploitation of Indigenous peoples’ cultural heritage, as the country observes National Indigenous Peoples Month in October.
”It is heartening to see more Filipinos appreciating our weaving, art, stories, traditions and indigenous knowledge. Alongside this appreciation, it is important to ask whether we acknowledge the people behind them, whether we have their permission and whether they are the ones benefiting from it,” Legarda said.
Under Presidential Proclamation 1906, issued in 2009, National Indigenous Peoples Month highlights the country’s diverse indigenous cultures. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples recognizes 113 Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous peoples in the Philippines.
