Statement - On President Arroyo's Easter Sunday commutation of death sentences

We from the Mamamayang Tutol sa Bitay-Movement for Restorative Justice (MTB-MRJ) certainly laud President Arroyo's Easter Sunday announcement to commute the death sentences to life imprisonment of some 1,205 inmates. Having been campaigning against the death penalty for several years now, we hope that the president's action will pave the way for the abolition of RA 7659, or the Death Penalty Law. But MTB-MRJ believes that commutation of death sentences does not fully address our call for the abolition of the death penalty:

1.It does not address the fact that some of these inmates may have been victims of injustice and therefore do not deserve to be in death row; mere commutation of their sentences will be another injustice to them. This policy does not address the flaws of the criminal justice system, where the poor and uneducated are more often meted out with harsh penalties while the rich and powerful can go scot-free.

2.While Arroyo's statement touches on correcting the wrongs one has committed (which is obviously self-referential), it makes no mention of the human rights issues surrounding death penalty. President Arroyo's Easter message, couched as it is in pious tones, does not recognize the bare fact that the death penalty is a blatant violation of the most basic right: the right to life. Also, it does not recognize that the death penalty has not, and will not be, the solution to crime and criminality in the country.

3.Worse, it does not mention the abolition of RA 7659. While there is indeed a presidential prerogative to commute affirmed death sentences, this policy of wholesale commutation does not adequately answer our call, which is the abolition and repeal of the Death Penalty Law. Moreover, since this policy contravenes an existing law; it is not an assurance therefore that the sentencing of capital offenses will stop. As long as RA 7659 is in effect, death sentences will continue to be handed down by Philippine courts. What will happen then to those who will be sentenced to death after April 16, 2006?

President Arroyo must stop this hemming and hawing. Beyond mere commutation, she must now certify as urgent House Bill 4826 ("An Act Prohibiting the Imposition of the Death Penalty in the Philippines") which has already been approved by the House Committee on Revision of Laws as early as October 2005.

The adverse reactions to President Arroyo's commutation of death sentences only reminds us that human rights education among Filipinos needs to be widened and deepened; the angry and bitter voices, especially from the families of crime victims, is a challenge to those of us advocating for a better criminal justice system - one that is restorative and healing, rather than retributive and punitive. All sectors of society, especially the government, should strive for a justice system that:

· makes the real offenders accountable for their wrong-doings;

· works towards genuine rehabilitation and eventual reintegration of offenders; and

· at the same time helps the victims of crimes recover from the harm that had been done to them. Such a justice system must also recognize that crimes are bred within certain socio-economic and cultural contexts, and that the solution to criminality must go beyond mere knee-jerk reactions that only breed more crimes and violence.

MTB-MRJ is a nationwide network of some 150 human rights, sectoral, political, and church groups campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty in the Philippines.

Reference:
Estela P. Vasquez
Coordinator MTB-MRJ Cebu
Mamamayang Tutol sa Bitay-Movement for Restorative Justice