SC hailed for suspension of Jan. 30 executions

While President Arroyo expressed relief, the Catholic Church and anti-death penalty groups were elated over the suspension of the Jan. 30 execution of death row convicts Roberto Lara and Roderick Licayan.

Lara and Licayan, who had been scheduled to die on Friday, were granted a 30-day reprieve based on the 7-6 decision of the Supreme Court to suspend the executions, during which their cases will be reviewed.

"We follow the mandate of the Supreme Court," the President said. "I have directed all preparations for the execution to stand down."

"This comes as a relief to me, but I have always been prepared to enforce the law despite my personal beliefs about the death penalty," she said.

The Catholic Church, meanwhile, expressed elation over the stay of execution, even as it scored the President for her stance lifting the moratorium on the death penalty.

Short of saying the President no longer fits the qualifications it requires to endorse a presidential candidate, Bishop Pedro Arigo of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care criticized Mrs. Arroyo for "giving in to the pressures to please the Chinese community," in lifting the execution ban.

Arigo said that, while they are "happy" and "grateful for the Supreme Court decision," they hope the President will not line up any more convicts for the death chamber.

"One of the qualities that we can see in our candidates, since the election is coming, is their stand on the matter of death penalty," Arigo said. "If they are pro-life or not."

"Definitely, our decision (of which candidate to support in the May 10 elections) will be influenced by their stand on the matter of the death penalty," he said. "If the President goes ahead with her plan of executing somebody else, our choice will definitely be affected."

It is traditional for the Catholic Church to come out with guidelines for voters among its faithful — guidelines which are parallel with church policies on issues like the death penalty and population control.

Once a suspect is convicted of committing a heinous crime and a death sentence is handed down, the case is automatically elevated to the Supreme Court, which will either uphold the lower court decision or overturn the decision and send the case back for retrial.

The judicial process of convicting a person and meting a death sentence is not among the duties and powers of the executive branch of government, to which the President belongs.

The President, however, may issue reprieves, pardons and commute the sentences of death convicts. The Chief Executive may also issue a moratorium on executions pending the review, amendment or repeal of the law that she suspended.

"We have been lobbying with our congressmen and senators and I am happy to inform you that, as of now, we have the majority of congressmen and senators who are for the abolition of the death penalty — so it is just a matter of formally enacting the bill abolishing the death penalty," Arigo said.

So far, seven death convicts have been executed by lethal injection since the capital punishment law was enacted in 1993. The first death sentence was carried out in 1999 after the lower court ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court during the term of then President Joseph Estrada.

Mrs. Arroyo issued a moratorium on executions in 2001 when she assumed the presidency in the wake of Estrada’s ouster by the EDSA II uprising.

The Coalition Against Death Penalty also expressed joy over the stay of execution for Lara and Licayan, saying there "would be sufficient time to determine if the evidence so far presented would warrant a new trial."

New evidence and testimonies pointing to the innocence of Lara and Licayan’s limited involvement in the 1998 kidnapping of businessman Joseph Tomas Co and his assistant, Linda Manaysay, surfaced recently with the arrest of the abduction mastermind Pedro Mabansag and Mabansag’s cohort Rogelio de los Reyes early this month.

Mabansag said Lara had nothing to do with the kidnapping of Co and Manaysay.

The CADP and the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) are conducting a nine-day program at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) to condemn the executions.

FLAG member Cookie Diokno said "we welcome the decision, but it (the reprieve) could have been longer. This is one of those rare opportunities when we can show laughter."

Diokno said they commend the SC for giving ample attention to the Lara and Licayan cases. "It was a very difficult decision. The justices decided by the skin of their teeth."

"Chief Justice (Hilario) Davide (Jr.) had to break the tie and vote for the suspension of executions," she added.

However, the stay of execution will not prevent FLAG and the other anti-death penalty groups from pursuing their goal of seeking the abolition of capital punishment.

"In cases where life is at stake, we have to look for every possible avenue," Diokno said. The bill seeking to abolish capital punishment, she said, has already reached the second reading in both houses of Congress.

She said they have also raised the issue with the United Nations, where two cases they filed are pending.

CADP and FLAG are going to sponsor a thanksgiving Mass on Friday at the NBP parish church.

Meanwhile, a non-profit organization inside the NBP will continue their protests to support Lara and Licayan. — With Edu Punay, Edith Regalado, Cecille Suerte Felipe