‘Christmas gift of death’

The reimposition of death penalty is being used to conceal the incompetence of the government and law enforcement, Sen. Leila de Lima and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said on Friday.

Both staunch critics of capital punishment, the two lawmakers sang the same tune in slamming the proposed measure in Congress during a forum on death penalty in the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Desperate last stand

“The revival of the death penalty is nothing more than the desperate last stand of a tired old narcissist,” De Lima said, alluding to President Duterte, with whom she had been waging a word war.

“To hide his incompetence, he offers this as a final solution,” she said, noting that the administration would “rather kill than protect” its citizens.

Lagman said the revival of death penalty will continue a cycle of violence already evident in the rising number of deaths in the administration’s bloody war on drugs.

“It is not farfetched that we may receive a Christmas gift of death,” he said.

Smokescreen

He highlighted the administration’s failure to address the economic causes of crimes, languishing only on a failed belief that death penalty can deter criminal acts.

“Death penalty is only a smokescreen to conceal the ineptitude of the government,” he said. “This reimposition will spawn injustice because our judicial and prosecutorial systems are already poor.”

The two lawmakers also reminded the supporters of death penalty that its revival would be in violation of international law.

While the bill took on a quick road at the House of Representatives, De Lima said the Senate will be more discerning about the issue.