LP senators to oppose death penalty bill

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

Senators belonging to the Liberal Party have taken a stand to oppose the death penalty bill when it is deliberated in the chamber.

Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon said on Thursday that the four LP senators in the Senate were against the reimposition of the death penalty bill.

The four LP senators are Drilon, LP president Francis Pangilinan, Leila de Lima and Bam Aquino.

“The LPs in the Senate will not vote in favor of the reimposition,’’ Drilon told reporters.

Asked if there were other senators sharing the same position, Drilon said he has some idea but he was “not at liberty to tell.”

He said he has not yet seen the death penalty bill that was passed in the House justice committee recently.

Among the reasons they opposed the revival of the death penalty in the country which had been outlawed during the term of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo include the “less-than-ideal justice system,’’ Drilon said.

The less-than-ideal justice system can result in the government executing a person who turns out to be innocent of the crime, Drilon said.

“Secondly, we are not convinced the reimposition of the death penalty is a deterrent to crime,” he said.

Drilon said it takes years for cases to prosper in the system.