De Lima rejects Sotto proposal to revive death penalty

SOTTO ARNOLD ALMACEN

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima on Thursday rejected the proposal of Senator Tito Sotto III to revive the death penalty.

“I totally agree with the position of the President that the matter has to be thoroughly studied,” De Lima told reporters.

She said the death penalty is irreversible “and we all know that the criminal justice system in our country has a lot of flaws.”

“What if we execute the wrong person?” De Lima asked.

She said there are other ways to reduce crimes and that is the certainty of prosecution and punishment.

She added that Sotto’s proposal is probably a knee-jerk reaction to series of drug raids and the violent death of two girls-a six-year-old girl in Manila and a 10-year-old girl in Cavite.