Duterte favors public executions of criminals

Davao City Mayor and presidential aspirant
Rodrigo Duterte. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

TUGUEGARAO CITY—Rodrigo Duterte may have learned a lesson from late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Or maybe he picked up the lesson from former President Joseph Estrada.

Speaking at a political rally on Wednesday, the opposition presidential candidate and Davao City mayor reinforced his iron-hand stance against crime—he not only wants the death penalty back, he also wants the  execution to be in public.

“I will work for the restoration of the death penalty,” Duterte told a cheering crowd here. “I will really bring it back (and make) it public so that the people will see for themselves (how criminals are punished).”

The 1987 Constitution abolished the death penalty although it does not close its door to its restoration.

Section 19 of the Charter’s Bill of Rights  states: “Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall the death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion perpetua.”

Death by musketry

Duterte spoke to a crowd of about 3,000, mostly college students, at  University of Cagayan Valley gymnasium here.

Marcos ordered the execution by firing squad in public of Chinese drug trafficker Lim Seng in January 1973, four months after declaring martial law. In May 1972, before martial law was declared, the three convicted rapists of movie star Maggie dela Riva were executed by lethal injection in the presence of the media.

Duterte promise

Another convicted rapist, Leo Echegaray, was executed by lethal drugs, also in the presence of the media, in February 1999 during the Estrada presidency.

Repeating a promise he made earlier, Duterte asked voters to give him “three to six months” to stamp out criminality in the country.

He said he would take “full responsibility, legal or otherwise,” for any human rights violation or administrative charges that may be slapped against lawmen accused of killing criminals.

From the airport, Duterte met with Tuguegarao Archbishop Sergio Utleg before  his convoy drove around the city, where people lining up the street chanted, “Duterte! Duterte!”

Pressed by Utleg for details on his political platform, Duterte told the archbishop: “I will be very drastic. I will order the police and the military (to use all measures) as granted to me (by law) should I win the race.

“I assure you, if (you are concerned about stories that I would be killing people), that is not something we will do,” he said.

During the motorcade around the city, Duterte stood at the back of a pickup truck. He waved at cheering women and raised a clenched fist to acknowledge his male supporters.

He invited the people of Tuguegarao to visit Davao City and see for themselves what he had achieved as mayor for 22 years.

“I will even take care of your hotel expenses. But please, the first batch should all be beautiful women,” he said.