CBCP prison ministry opposes revival of death penalty

THE Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care on Friday, August 7, 2020, reiterated its opposition to the move to restore the death penalty.

In its statement titled "Stand for Life," commission chairperson Bishop Joel Baylon said they will continue to oppose the revival of the death penalty primarily because this violates the inherent dignity of a person, which should not be lost despite the commission of a crime.

"No person, no matter how evil he is perceived to be, is beyond reformation," Baylon said.

Secondly, he said there are no conclusive studies that prove that the death penalty deters crime.

"Based on PNP (Philippine National Police) data in the years after the abolition of the death penalty, crime volume has been actually decreasing," he noted.

The CBCP commission noted that death sentence is irrevocable.

"Once carried out, there is no possibility for rectifying an erroneous judgment by an imperfect system," Baylon said.

He also pointed how death penalty is tilted against the marginalized and the poor, who cannot afford prominent lawyers to defend them.

Lastly, Baylon said that the Philippines, being a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) enacted in 1989 as well as to the 2nd Optional Protocol of the ICCPR, has committed to not reimpose the death penalty.

"Reviving it will go against this commitment and will put our country in a bad light insofar as our standing in the community of nations is concerned," said Baylon.

The commission said Congress should instead focus on coming up with a comprehensive program to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and alleviate the plight of the poor, who are most adversely affected.

Congress should also formulate laws aimed at modernizing and reforming the judicial and correctional systems by making them more restorative and rehabilitative, rather than punitive.

Baylon also asked Congress to craft laws that will eradicate graft and corruption in jails and penitentiaries so that the basic human rights of persons deprived of liberty (PDL) are respected, their legitimate demands properly heard, and their needs adequately responded to.

The House committee on justice opened deliberations on numerous death penalty bills on August 5, more than a week after President Rodrigo Duterte repeated his call for the revival of capital punishment. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)

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