Senate minority slams Duterte's renewed calls for death penalty
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte's renewed calls to impose the death penalty for drug-related crimes in the country has been met with emphatic opposition from members of the Senate minority.
During his penultimate State of the Nation Address on Monday, as spectators awaited a detailed recovery plan for a country ravaged by the novel coronavirus crisis, Duterte reiterated his call for "the swift passage of a law reviving the death penalty by lethal injection for crimes specified under the Comprehensive Dangerous Act of 2002.”
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, who Duterte singled out during his speech, on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to the death penalty "because of the deficiencies in our justice system."
"You make a mistake in imposing the death penalty, you can never correct that mistake," he told ABS-CBN.
The minority leader further urged to "reform our law and justice system before we even think of reimposing the death penalty."
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, called out the president on Twitter, saying in Filipino: "In the middle of the pandemic, the president really thought to bring up the death penalty?"
COVID-19: But what about me? ??
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) July 28, 2020
After President Rodrigo Duterte pushed for the return of death penalty, Senator @risahontiveros on a Twitter post called on the government to focus on the coronavirus pandemic, which has already infected more than 80,000 Filipinos. pic.twitter.com/mzwtQnKkNn
"I cant believe I need to say this: but the death penalty is not a solution to the pandemic," she added in a mix of English and Filipino.
Critics tell Duterte: Focus on the pandemic
Hontiveros pushed Duterte to focus on the crises at hand, saying he should be prioritizing the economy, assisting those who lost their jobs, and strengthening health programs in the fight against COVID-19.
These sentiments were echoed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan who, in Filipino, said: "The death penalty is useless in addressing the severe health and economic crisis the country is facing."
He added that if anyone is to be punished, it should be the alleged corrupt officials in Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the Department of Health.
"Pay attention to the thousands of Filipinos who are stranded in Rizal Memorial Coliseum in the midst of rain and floods, all the while hoping that the government will bring them back to their provinces," Pangilinan stressed In Filipino.
Hontiveros, in a separate statement, further indicted the president's speech delivered on Monday, saying: "The president uttered the same incoherent statements that did not present a health and economic roadmap that could lead us through this pandemic. Issues of unemployment and hunger were not directly addressed."
She also hit the government's COVID-19 response, alleging that it "wasted the past four months of lockdowns and community quarantines."
As it stands, the country has been under community quarantine for 133 days — the longest in the world.
Despite this, cases are surging with the Health department logging over 2,000 cases four days in a row from Thursday to Sunday.
On Monday, the DOH placed the national caseload at 82,040 and fatalities at 1,945.
Accounting for deaths and recoveries, the Philippines has 53,649 active cases of novel coronavirus—the highest in Southeast Asia.
A researcher from the University of the Philippines on Monday warned that the number of COVID-19 cases in the country could reach 90,000 by the end of July and 140,000 by the end of August.
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