Tuesday, April 18, 2006
4 kidnappers sentenced to death despite Arroyo's move to commute (1:20 p.m.)
MANILA -- A trial court has sentenced four kidnappers to die despite President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's staunch opposition to death sentences and her record of commuting virtually all of them, an official said Tuesday.
Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez found four men guilty of abducting Jocelyn Sy, who was blindfolded and kept for three days in a suburban house nine years ago before her husband paid a ransom for her release, said the court's researcher, Eduardo Divina.
Four others were acquitted in the case for lack of evidence and another died in custody, he said.
He said the decision was made March 17 but promulgated on Monday.
Arroyo, who has repeatedly said she wants the death penalty abolished, announced over the weekend she will commute death sentences to life in prison.
Her decision would save the lives of about 1,200 death-row convicts -- including at least 11 al-Qaida-linked militants -- although only about 100, whose sentences have been affirmed by the Supreme Court, will be immediately affected.
The president can only commute sentences affirmed by the court.
Only Congress can repeal the law that allows the death penalty. The influential Roman Catholic Church, which applauded Arroyo's decision, has urged lawmakers to do so.
No execution has taken place since 2000 in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, where capital punishment is opposed by the church but advocated by victims of severe crimes and terrorist attacks.
In the past, Arroyo has commuted individual death sentences, and once issued a moratorium on executions, but it excluded those convicted of drug trafficking and rape.
Arroyo's move sent shock waves through citizens' anti-crime groups, who worried it will embolden criminals amid a resurgence in kidnappings.
Dante Jimenez, head of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, said Monday he had received phone calls from two families of victims who told him they would "just find a way to have those who committed heinous crimes against their loved ones killed in prison." He didn't provide details. (AP) |
