Philippine credibility on the line if death penalty is reimposed: senator
The Philippines’ credibility will be put in question by the international community if the death penalty is reimposed.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, Amnesty International Philippines and some lawmakers raised this concern as they vowed to campaign hard against the passage of bill reviving the capital punishment.
This came a day after the House committee on justice passed a bill reviving the death penalty, 12-6, with one abstention. This means the House will soon begin plenary debates on this controversial topic.
During the hearing, House committee members approved the bill which imposes capital punishment on heinous crimes such as rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, destructive arson, plunder, and manufacture, importation, and possession of dangerous drugs.
The Philippines became a state party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming the abolition of the death penalty, when it signed the document on Nov. 20, 2007 after it abolished the death penalty for all crimes in June 2006 under the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The Protocol, in its Article 1, prohibits the implementation of death sentences and requires the state parties to it to abolish the death penalty. From the same article stems the obligation not to re-introduce the death penalty, an act that would be contrary to the very object and purpose of the second optional protocol.
According to Amnesty International Philippines chair Ritz Lee Santos III, the Protocol does not provide an "exit clause."
In a press conference in Pasig City, he said if the death penalty will be reimposed, the international community might no longer trust the Philippines.
Hontiveros said it could be construed as "reneging in our international commitments."
She said based on her initial count, there were seven senators who expressed opposition on the re-imposing capital punishment.
"Our number slowly grows to about nine or 10. It means we will be able to get a good fight. It's (re-imposition of death penalty) on our 'kill bill' list," she said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been pushing for the revival of death penalty for heinous crimes.
Also present in the press conference to call for the junking of death penalty bill were Siquijor Representative Ramon Rocamora and Dinagat Island Representative Kaka Bag-ao.
Hontiveros also expressed strong opposition on a bill lowering the age of criminal liability from 15 years old to 9 years old.
Amnesty International Philippines presented other Human Rights Legislative Agenda to the 17th Congress as part of its commemorative actions for the run-up to the International Human Rights Day on December 10.
The group called on members of both Houses to respond to its agenda focusing on 11 human rights issues which include the rejecting the death penalty, extrajudicial executions, discrimination and torture. Celerina Monte/DMS
