PHILIPPINES: 2 to be executed to teach kidnappers lesson: Arroyo

President Arroyo said Thursday that 2 death row convicts will be executed at the end of the month to teach kidnapping gangs a lesson.

"We will not block it if there is an approval by the Supreme Court. That is still my position," Arroyo, a devout Roman Catholic who says she is against the death penalty in principle, told local radio.

Corrections officials have said that 2 unnamed prisoners would be put to death by lethal injection in the last week of January unless Arroyo grants them a reprieve or Congress passes a law abolishing capital punishment.

The crime of the 2 convicts has not been revealed, but Arroyo said the executions would send a message to kidnapping gangs.

"I am saddened that we have to do this because I am pro-life, but there are circumstances and situations where you really have to do this because even when they are in jail, they can still operate their syndicates," Arroyo said.

"I hope that after these two executions, they will learn their lesson and we can go back to our policy of no executions," Arroyo added.

Arroyo scrapped a 4-year moratorium on executions in December after a surge in kidnappings and other violent crimes led to an outcry from the business community.

Arroyo's decision angered the dominant Roman Catholic Church, which has consistently opposed capital punishment.

Critics say her policy reversal is a cynical ploy to win votes ahead of May presidential elections.