There are ‘concerns’ over death penalty revival—Palace

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma. PHOTO BY LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines—Palace on Tuesday said it will have to wait until the proposed bill to revive the death penalty is discussed in Congress before giving its statement.

However, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said there are indeed “concerns” over the move to restore it because of perceived weaknesses in the country’s judicial system.

“If the justice system is flawed, people are in danger of being punished despite their innocence. That is one of the concerns,” he said during a Palace press briefing.

Coloma said they continue to observe ways to improve the judicial process, especially on how to speed up the pace of litigation.

“They always say, ‘justice delayed is justice denied?’ Probably that’s the reason why it was previously mentioned by the President,”  he said, referring to President Benigno Aquino III’s earlier statement on the needed reforms in the criminal justice system.

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has filed a bill seeking the revival of Republic Act no. 7659 or the Death Penalty Law, citing the “influx of heinous crimes” in the country.

But Coloma said crime prevention is “better achieved through community efforts and not through deterrent or punitive aspects.”

“Any violation of the law is being seriously addressed by the government. That is why our law enforcement  are intensifying efforts to prevent crime,” he said.

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