Sunday, April 16, 2006
Palace 'saves' 1000 death row convicts
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Black Saturday that she will commute the death penalty of a thousand convicts to life imprisonment in the spirit of Easter Sunday.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said the policy covers those already convicted and those to be handed capital punishment in the future. However, it does not abolish the death penalty, which would require approval by Congress.
"The death penalty stands but under the law it's up to the president to commute a death sentence," Gonzales said.
No execution has taken place in the country since 2000 and there are at least 1,280 people on death row.
The Philippines lifted a ban on judicial executions in 1999, during the term of deposed president Joseph Estrada, as part of the government's anti-crime drive.
Seven inmates were executed between 1999 and 2000 before Estrada imposed a moratorium on further executions, after pressure from the Catholic Church and human rights groups.
Arroyo, a devout Catholic, has in the past granted reprieves for death row convicts following protests from the Catholic Church in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, as well as the European Union.
"From our great trials flow patience and experience that, in turn, elevate the hope of salvation. Christ suffered to show us how love can endure sacrifice and redeem souls. We must keep our hopes high as we carry our own crosses, rise from our failings, and fix our sights on a brighter horizon," the President said.
The latest move appeared aimed at wooing church leaders who have also criticized Arroyo's petition campaign to amend the Constitution.
The influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, in a pastoral statement Friday, said people were being asked to sign without adequate information, adding that Filipinos fear continued political turmoil while they struggle to eke out a living.
It said the changes being proposed, including a shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system, "are dangerously unclear and open to manipulation by groups with self-serving interests."
"Our beloved bishops spoke of the people's fear of more chaotic politics, even as they struggle to make a decent living. We seek above all the nation's salvation from poverty and discord...This nation will prevail in the loving hands of the Almighty," said President Arroyo, who spent Holy Week attending a retreat in Baguio City with her Cabinet advisers.
Arroyo has said in the past that changing the Constitution would help alleviate poverty and end political upheaval.
"We seek above all the nation's salvation from poverty and discord," she said Saturday.
Critics have been urging Arroyo to resign over allegations she rigged the 2004 election and clamped down on civil liberties. Opposition politicians have branded the signature drive as a ploy by Arroyo to stay in power. (AP/OPS/Sunnex)
(April 16, 2006 issue)
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