April 6 2002

PHILIPPINES: 17 convicts to be executed in Philippines this year

17 death row convicts are due to be executed by lethal injection in predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines this year, Manila's justice secretary said Friday.

 Of the total, 14 are convicted rapists, 2 are kidnappers and the 1 is a convicted robber, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said, adding that their convictions have been affirmed by the Supreme Court which had reviewed their cases.

 First to die would be Rolando Pagdayawan, whose conviction for rape was sustained with finality by the high court in March last year. Under the law, he can be executed through lethal injection any time between March and September, Perez said.

 Next would be Alfredo Nardo, whose conviction was uphelp in April last year, making him eligible for execution any time between this month and October, Perez said.

 Under a law that revived capital punishment here in 1994, the execution of a death row convict can only be carried out a year after the Supreme Court upholds the conviction with finality.

 The Philippines broke a 23-year moratorium on judicial executions in 1999, when 7 convicts were put to death.

 Then president Joseph Estrada however ordered a temporary freeze on executions after appeals from the Roman Catholic church and local and international rights groups.

 But President Gloria Arroyo, who replaced Estrada after a military-backed popular revolt topped his graft-tainted administration, said executions must continue in order to strike fear among criminals, especially the kidnappers that have plagued her government.

 But majority members of the Senate have filed a bill seeking the abolition of capital punishment, which they said has not proven to be an effective deterrent to crime and is opposed by majority of Filipinos who belong to the Catholic faith.

 Debates on the the repeal of the law are also being carried out in the House of Representatives.

 The law can only be repealed if both chambers arrive at a consensus.

 The Free Legal Assistance Group (Flag), an anti-death penalty group providing legal aid to death row inmates, on Friday appealed on Arroyo to suspend the scheduled executions.

 "In the face of a clear majority in the Senate and large numbers in the House asking for the abolition of the death penalty, the president's decision to allow executions is arrogant, undemocratic and smacks of gross political grandstanding," Flag spokesman Theodore Te said.

 "Flag calls on the president to stop the executions and implement a moratorium on all executions until Congress arrives at a clear and definitive position on the abolitio or retention of capital punishment," he said.