|
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Arroyo certifies as urgent bill repealing death penalty
MANILA -- Apparently trying to prove that she was serious in her stand against capital punishment, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo endorsed on Wednesday as urgent a proposed measure abolishing the death penalty authored by Ilocos Sur Representative Salacnib Baterina.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said there is still a possibility that Arroyo may change her mind on the commutation of the death sentences.
Arroyo, during a birthday treat of Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye who turned 61 Wednesday, said she signed the letter of certifying House Bill 4826 as urgent Tuesday night.
The bill, also known as the "Act Prohibiting the Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines," was authored by Baterina who filed it on October 10, 2005. The bill consolidated 15 bills aimed at repealing the Death Penalty Law.
Ermita said he expects the proposed bill to gain "bi-partisan" support as some senators have already stated that they favor the abolition of capital punishment.
He said despite criticisms of Arroyo's decision to change the death sentences to life imprisonment, he does not expect any "controversy" or strong opposition to arise on the abolition.
He also said that of the 1,222 cases in death row, only 80 have had final judgment or whose death sentences had been affirmed by the Supreme Court, "which means that the policy statement of the President covers only those 80."
Ermita added that while commutation is the current policy of the President, until the law is abolished, she might still change her mind depending on the peace and order situation.
"There is no qualification as to whether the decision of the President to commute would be based on the kind, the type of crime that have been committed but definitely, as time goes on, especially if we feel that, let's say if we already have the bill on anti-terrorism and there is an upsurge of such crime, then maybe the President would make a change of mind but for the moment her policy is the commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment," he said.
He added that Malacañang is open to a dialogue with the victims and relatives of the victims of heinous crimes to explain the rationale of the President's position.
But Ermita said they would not initiate the meetings. "In other words, we are open to any move for anyone to have dialog with us," he said.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Ma. Sison said Arroyo's commutation of the death sentences is meant to "gloss over" the 556 cases of extra-judicial killings by the military and the police.
"She is obviously engaged in cheap propaganda in order to misrepresent herself as 'kind and compassionate'," said Sison of the President in a statement from his base in the Netherlands.
Sison also said the move was aimed at countering "her well-deserved notoriety throughout the world as someone culpable for rampant human right violations, including extra-judicial executions and brutal suppression of the right to assembly and free speech."
He claimed that 556 people, including party-list activists, have been murdered "in extra judicial executions" by military and police death squads since Arroyo assumed the presidency in January 2001.
"One hundred ninety-nine have been wounded in attempts of the military and police to kill them for engaging in protest activities against the Arroyo regime. The number of murdered and wounded victims continues to rise," Sison added. (JMR/VFR/Sunnex)
(April 20, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
