House panel starts deliberations on death penalty revival

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives started yesterday deliberations on the proposal to revive the death penalty.

The House committee on justice tackled 12 bills seeking reimposition of capital punishment for heinous crimes, particularly plunder and drug-related cases.

The measures seek to amend Republic Act 9346, the law signed by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006 that abolished death penalty in the criminal justice system.

Proponents argued that the revival of the death penalty would deter heinous crimes and serve justice to victims.

But during the hearing, human rights commissioner Karen Gomez Dumpit opposed the proposed measure.

She argued that the death penalty takes away the chance of convicts of heinous crimes to reform.

“In life sentence, the prisoner would be given the chance to be reformed and he should be suffering for the crime he did,” Dumpit told lawmakers.

During his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Duterte asked Congress to reinstate capital punishment for heinous crimes related to drugs and corruption.

The death penalty bill was passed by the House of Representatives in the 17th Congress, but was not enacted after it faced strong opposition in the Senate.   

Allies and critics of President Duterte in the House expressed support for moves to revive the death penalty for heinous crimes.

“The alarming increase in heinous crimes calls for the reimposition of capital punishment,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said.

Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, filed House Bill 2026 that seeks to restore the death penalty.

Rep. Eric Go Yap of party-list ACT-CIS also backed the move as House justice committee chairman Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso conducted a hearing to amend RA 9346, the law that repealed the death penalty. 

House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante also supported the revival of the death penalty for heinous crimes such as massacre, terrorism, murder with rape and plunder.

House Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez and Rep. Rogelio Pacquiao, brother of Sen. Manny Pacquiao, also supported the proposed measure.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano assured critics of the government that they would be given opportunity to engage in deliberations on pro-death penalty measures.