The Manila Times

PHILIPPINES: Activists decry death penalty repeal plan, but GMA for it Anti-crime activists have raised the alarm over the possible repeal of the country's death penalty law but President Gloria Arroyo and Catholic clergy yesterday backed the Senate move to review the controversial legislation.

But at the same time, the Chief Executive mulled over the possibility of allowing at least 1 execution to push through before the law is repealed.

At the House of Representatives, there were mixed reactions. Speaker Jose de Venecia chided senators for "inconsistency." He noted the smaller chamber had recently voted to lower the amount of shabu possession that would make convicts eligible for the death penalty.

 A group of young lawmakers called the "Spice Boys" also filed a resolution, urging colleagues to uphold the law on death penalty as a deterrent to crime.

 Not for Erap

 Senators, however, stressed they were only going to review the law, not necessarily repealing it.

 Kin of victims of heinous crimes expressed outrage and disappointment, saying they are losing faith in the country's justice system. Critics also accused the 15 senators seeking a review, of tailoring their move to the need of deposed president Joseph Estrada, who is facing trial for the capital charge of plunder.

 The senators and the President denied they were acting with Estrada's interests in mind. Justice Secretary Hernando Perez noted that more than 1,000 inmates on the death row would also benefit from the law's repeal.

 Consistent

 At a luncheon interview, President Arroyo said she voted against the death penalty as a senator.

 She vowed to pass the repeal bill once it passes Congress but said she would not certify it as urgent.

 However, she raised the possibility of at least one execution pushing through by August.

 "My support for the proposal to lift the death pe-nalty is consistent with my not voting for the death penalty when I was a senator and is not connected to any present pending case," she stressed.

 The Chief Executive said she still believes the penal system is supposed to be used for rehabilitation and not punitive justice, and that putting away criminals for life is a severe enough penalty.

 Warning

 But President Arroyo warned that unabated kidnappings could make her stick with capital punishment.

 "The reason why I made an exception of kidnapping is, that the kidnapping syndicates are still being ran by those who are in jail, so obviously they have not yet been rehabilitated," she pointed out.

 ï¿½To stop the syndicates from operating, you have to stop it at the level of the mastermind. And if they don"t stop, then they just have to face execution which is, after all, lawful," she added.

 The Catholic Church came out in full support of the Senate move to amend the death penalty law.

 Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin said the death penalty has not deterred the rampant criminality in the country.

 He said the only way for the government to stop the occurrence of heinous crimes is to "restore confidence" in the police and military.

"The death penalty law is not a deterrent to crime. If we want to prevent crime, we must restore the confidence of our people in the peace and order personnel," Cardinal Sin said.

 Motives

 Likewise, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, through its president, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, also supported the 16 senators who signed the review resolution.

 Quevedo clarified the church's stand has nothing to do with current political developments in the country, apparently referring to the Estrada plunder trial. "It is the bishop"s duty to speak the truth regardless of particular events or political developments. Bishops are for the repeal of the death penalty law. They believe that justice be given due course, but without resorting to capital punishment," he said.

 Justice Secretary Hernando Perez welcomed the Senate resolution but challenged legislators to be transparent about their motives.

Asked about charges that the review was intended to benefit Estrada, Perez said: "I hope not, I give them the benefit of the doubt. I hope there is a good intention when they re-examine the law."

He also said changing the maximum sentence to life imprisonment should bar parole.