Aquino rejects bid to revive death penalty

MANILA, Philippines - For the nth time, President Aquino yesterday thumbed down proposals to revive the death penalty following the spate of crimes in the country. 

“I think we have to study that very thoroughly,” he told reporters in a chance interview following ceremonies held for The Outstanding Filipino awards at the Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Aquino said the country’s justice system is far from perfect, citing cases of innocent people found guilty of crimes they did not commit only because they were unable to hire good lawyers.

The President reiterated that he would not allow capital punishment to be reimposed unless there is certainty that only those proven guilty will be punished and the innocent set free.

“Remember that if one is sentenced to death, there is no taking it back,” he said.

“As to deterrence, that will not be fully realized, and this is not the only solution to deter crimes. Perhaps there will be more deterrence if we can assure that criminals will be caught and jailed,” he added.

Sen. Vicente Sotto has filed Senate Bill 2080 seeking the revival of the death penalty.

Sotto expressed alarm that the penalty of life imprisonment has failed to deter criminals from committing heinous crimes such as rape and drug trafficking.

He cited the case of Chinese drug trafficker Lim Seng, who was executed by firing squad in the early 1970s.

This had effectively eliminated the illegal drug trade in the country for at least 10 years, the senator said.

Sotto noted that the Constitution allows Congress to reinstate the death penalty as long as there are compelling reasons to support this.

He called for the use of lethal injection as the means to carry out the death penalty. – With Marvin Sy, Jose Rodel Clapano, Gerry Lee Gorit