|
Friday, January 16, 2004
Palace nixes EU plea on stay of executions
MANILA -- Malacaņang rejected an appeal from the European Union diplomats to suspend the execution on Jan. 30 of two Filipino kidnap convicts.
EU ambassadors made the call during a visit to the national penitentiary to check on the condition of its 17,000 inmates, more than 1,000 of whom are on death row with two due to be executed in two weeks.
Public defenders, on the other hand, asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday to put off the Jan. 30 execution of two men found guilty of abducting a Filipino-Chinese businessman and his cashier five years ago.
"The European Union position on the death penalty is well known. We oppose the death penalty," Netherlands Ambassador Robert Vornis told reporters during the visit.
In a statement, Presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye said, "the position of the European envoys is well taken but we are also expecting them to respect the President's stand on the issue as an internal matter with respect to Philippine justice and the rule of law."
European Commission ambassador Jan de Kok said that while European countries respected Philippine laws and did not wish to "unduly influence" government policies, they were nonetheless concerned about the situation.
"Let us make it clear, this is not any specific action against the Philippines, it is part of our overall policy globally to advocate against death penalty," de Kok said.
Vornis said the delegation had sought a meeting with Arroyo, but was instead told to seek a meeting with Foreign Secretary Delia Albert.
Arroyo last month ended a nearly four-year moratorium on executions amid widespread public perception of rampant criminality, specifically kidnapping and murders targeting the financially influential ethnic Chinese community.
Convicted kidnappers Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan are due to be executed by lethal injection on Jan. 30. They will be the first since the moratorium was lifted, and the 8th and 9th since 1999.
Official records show there are 1,005 inmates on death row here, many of them convicted of rape and kidnapping. Of the total, 165 cases have been affirmed by the Supreme Court and can only be stopped by a presidential stay.
Many of those on death row are poor, and have not been given proper access to competent lawyers, rights groups say.
Stop execution
In a 17-page urgent motion, Persida Rueda-Acosta, head of the Public Attorney Office (PAO) urged the High Tribunal to "order a deferment/postponement of the scheduled executions on January 30" citing "newly-discovered exculpatory evidence."
Acosta also asked that the case of the death convicts be re-opened and remanded to the court for further trial and receipt of defense evidence, together with the trial.
The development came following the arrest of one of the death convict's uncle, Pedro Mabansag, who insisted on the innocence of his nephew.
The 60-year-old Mabansag, along with Rogelio Delos Reyes, were arrested in a police operation in Bacolod City early this month.
Before Mabansag's arrest, a motion for reconsideration in the case was filed but was denied with finality by the SC on Oct. 9, 2001 while a copy of entry of judgment became final and executory on Nov. 9, 2001.
Rueda-Acosta said that on Jan. 13, a woman, after hearing news that Lara is about to be executed, came to the office of the Chief Public Attorney and claimed she knows something about Lara's innocence.
Acosta said there are compelling justifiable reasons for ordering a stay of the execution of convicts Roderick Licayan and Lara, in view of the arrest of Mabansag and surfacing of another witness.
Lara and Licayan, whose sentences were upheld by the SC on Aug. 15, 2001, are scheduled to be put to death by the end of the month.
Lara and Licayan's co-accused who remain at large are Alex Placio, Jojo Sajorgo, Alan Placio, Noel de los Reyes, Dodong Adolfo and Benjie Mabansag.
Lara, Licayan, Pedro and six others were indicted for the Aug. 9, 1998 abduction of Joseph Tomas Co, owner of the Goodies Pares Mami chain, and his cashier Linda Manaysay.
They were subsequently arrested in an operation by the now defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Task Force (Paoctf). They were positively identified by their victims in a line-up at Camp Crame after their arrest.
Licayan insisted he was in San Mateo, Rizal, having dinner with a friend at the time the kidnapping supposedly occurred while Lara claimed he was on his way to work when he was arrested by police officers.
Meanwhile, three senators Thursday urged Malacaņang to suspend the execution of Lara and Licayan and urged President Arroyo to order a review of the cases against the two to determine if they are innocent or guilty.
"There has to be a suspension of the execution of these death convicts due to doubts on their guilt," said opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., one of the 16 senators who supported a Senate resolution seeking to abolish the death penalty law.
Sen. Robert Barbers, although opposed to the abolition of death penalty law, agreed with Pimentel that President Arroyo should delay the execution of the convicted kidnappers until the review of their cases is completed.
"If there is a convincing proof, I think it is only incumbent upon the authorities to order a reinvestigation of the case," said Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs.
"But if that is only part of their legal strategy to stop the execution, then the execution should push through," he added.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said an investigation into the cases of the two convicts, particularly if there is evidence that would absolve them of the crime, is necessary.
Pangilinan said if there is strong evidence to prove their innocence, then a new trial can be conducted.
(January 16, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Abalos mulls quitting post