Aquino gov’t remains opposed to death penalty

MANILA, Philippines - The government under President Aquino remains opposed to the imposition of the death penalty, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said yesterday.

“The government opposes it on constitutional, philosophical, spiritual and pragmatic grounds. We subscribe to the human rights discourse that the methods of the death penalty equate to cruel and inhumane punishment,” De Lima said.

“Our government believes that criminality will not magically dissipate just because the state allows for capital punishment. The leader of our republic is firmly entrenched in his belief that the antidote to criminality rests on a skilled and trusted law enforcement, an effective prosecutorial service, an independent and knowledgeable judiciary, a sound economy and an empowered citizenry,” she added.

De Lima made the statement in her keynote speech at the opening of the two-day 1st Asia Pacific Dialogue on Human Rights and Respect for the Dignity of Life at the EDSA Shangri-La hotel in Mandaluyong City.

The two-day conference brings together ministers of justice, public officials, religious representatives and human rights advocates from Asian countries and European Union countries to offer a platform of dialogue to those countries who have initiated a path towards a moratorium on executions in order to open a dialogue to a renovation of justice, with priority to human rights and values.

De Lima told the conference delegates that even if there is a current clamor to bring back the death penalty in the Philippines, the government remains opposed to it.

She noted that the death penalty has failed to show its effectiveness as a crime deterrent and capital punishment only equates to inhumane punishment.

“The issue of death penalty affects us all. It sheds light on the kind of society that we wish to build, the kind of justice that we choose to uphold and the kind of people that we aspire to be,” De Lima said.

“Thus even as we fought for the legality of the reproductive health law and while we recognized the right to health of women, we never once wavered in our conviction about the sanctity of human life. Much has our own President,” she explained.

The death penalty was first abolished in 1986. It was restored in 1993 during the term of then President Fidel Ramos. In 1999, during the term of then President Joseph Estrada, the Philippines held its first execution with the death of convicted child rapist Leo Echegaray by lethal injection.

The death penalty was suspended by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with the signing of Republic Act 9346 on June 24, 2006. Capital punishment was replaced by life imprisonment or an imprisonment of at least 30 years.