After Vice Ganda’s call, Cardinal says death penalty injurious to poor

CBCP President, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David —REUTERS/ELOISA LOPEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The president of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reiterated the Church’s stand against the death penalty after comedian Vice Ganda called for it to be imposed on corrupt officials.

CBCP President and Kalookan Bishop, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David said he understands Vice’s outrage and demand for “serious accountability,” but he noted that the wealthy could often escape capital punishment.

The comedian made the appeal for capital punishment during her impassioned and expletive-laden speech during the Trillion Peso March rally at People Power Monument, Edsa on Sunday.

“For me, putting them in jail is not enough. We must kill these corrupt thieves. Let’s bring back the death penalty for those who are corrupt, so that the thieves and their families will be put in jail and executed,” Vice, apologizing several times to the clergy behind her for such remarks, said. “Corrupt officials are worse than killers.”

READ: Vice Ganda dares President Marcos: ‘Ipakulong mo ang mga magnanakaw’

“The Church’s opposition to capital punishment is rooted in this reality: In practice, it is almost always the poor who end up executed, while the wealthy escape,” David said in a Facebook post on Monday. “Those with money can buy the best legal defense, delay trials indefinitely, or manipulate the system. The defenseless and powerless have no such protection.”

David also noted that history shows that the law is often weaponized by those in power.

“Remember how both St. John the Baptist and Jesus were swiftly condemned to death, while the truly guilty walked away unpunished,” he said. “That’s why the answer to corruption cannot be more death, but a deeper reform of justice—one that protects the poor and holds the powerful accountable.”

The September 21 protests, the same date when late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law in 1972, was sparked by a major corruption scandal involving flood control infrastructure that has prompted intense House and Senate investigations into suspected collusion between politicians, government officials, and contractors to embezzle billions of pesos from the country’s coffers.

READ: Manila riot leaves 1 dead, over 100 arrested, hotel ransacked

The simultaneous protest actions in Luneta Park and Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, as well as those at the People Power Monument and in front of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, were relatively peaceful.

But in Ayala Bridge, black-clad and ski mask-wearing rioters clashed with cops while rioters wearing the same black mask and clothes attempted to break through the police line in Mendiola Peace Arch which shielded the road to Malacañang Palace.

The Department of Health on Monday said an unidentified man was dead on arrival due to stab wounds during the Mendiola riots. /cb