After Silawan killing: Cebu cops want death penalty

CEBU, Philippines — Following the gruesome death of 16-year-old Christine Lee Silawan, top police officials in Cebu want the death penalty reinstated.

“I believe that death penalty gives importance sa mga buhay na napatay din (I believe the death penalty gives importance to the life that has been taken). A tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye,” said Cebu City Police Director Royina Garma.

Cebu Provincial Police spokesperson Eloveo Marquez and Mandaue City Police Director Julian Entoma agree with her.

Garma said imposing the death penalty is a way of showing that the lives of victims are important.

She said a death penalty conviction is not a “reckless” conviction because suspects can appeal to all levels of court.

She also does not agree that the death penalty is anti-poor.

“Makikita lang natin ang resulta din kapag nandiyan na ang death penalty (We will see the results once it’s there), but I believe it will be an effective tool at least to criminals,” she said.

Marquez, meanwhile, said the death penalty should have not been removed in the first place. He said its absence has given a chance for evil to thrive.

“Parang nagha-hatch tayo ng lahi ng demonyo pag ganitong wala tayong magawa para mawala o mabawasan sila (We seem to be breeding demons when we don’t have means to eliminate or reduce their number),” he said.

Entoma said that based on his experience, some criminals who were sentenced to prison and pardoned became even tougher.

“Naa man gud nga if mugawas na pud to ang nakapatay, instead nga mabag-o, mas musiga na nuon ni sila (There are instances when convicted criminals even become tougher outside when they regain their freedom),” Entoma said.

In Mandaue City, the police have recorded seven murder cases as of March 24 this year.

Opposing the view of the police officials, BAYAN Central Visayas Chairman Jaime Paglinawan said it is inhumane to reinstate the death penalty.

“Mga kabus lang ang maalaut o maoy maigo sa death penalty nga walay kakayahan sa pagkuha’g maayo nga abogado, samtang ang mga adunahan sigurado nga makalingkawas ani (Only the poor will suffer the consequence of the death penalty because they are the ones who cannot afford good lawyers. The rich will get to avoid the punishment),” he said.

Garma said ensuring public security and safety is a big challenge in densely populated community like Cebu. As of 2015, Cebu City alone has 922,611 residents, a number that is way beyond the number of policemen.

Silawan was found lifeless with 20 stab wounds and half of her face skinned early morning on March 11 in Lapu-Lapu City.

About five days after she was found, the National Bureau of Investigation arrested a suspect, Silawan’s 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, and sued him for murder.

The NBI based its complaint, primarily, on footage from closed circuit television cameras that showed the boy being the last person Silawan was with the night she was believed to have been killed.

Prosecutors in Lapu-Lapu City, however, said the warrantless arrest of the boy was invalid and the suspect was released on the same day Silawan was laid to rest on March 23.

The complaint against him stays.

Study

An October 2018 story of philstar.com cites a study that said nearly six in every 10 Filipinos agree that the death penalty should be reinstated for heinous crimes.

The study was released by the Social Weather Stations and the Commission on Human Rights on World Day against Death Penalty.

Of the 59 percent who agreed that the death penalty should be restored for people proven in court to have committed heinous crimes, 42 percent strongly agreed while 17 percent somewhat agreed, the story reads.

Only 23 percent said they strongly disagree, nine percent said they somewhat disagree, while the remaining eight percent were undecided.

This yielded a “moderate” net agreement of +26.

The study, however, emphasized that only 33 percent of Filipinos want death penalty if there are other punishment options.

For importation of illegal drugs, maintenance of drug dens, manufacture of illegal drugs, murder under the influence of drugs, sale of illegal drugs and working in drug dens, the demand for death penalty ranges from 22 to 33 percent.

Demand for life imprisonment, instead of death, is from 51 to 55 percent.

The strongest demand for capital punishment is at 47 percent for rape under the influence of drugs. — /JMO (FREEMAN)