Vice President Leni Robredo. ARNOLD ALMACENN/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Vice President Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo expressed alarm over President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to kill at least five to six convicts on the death row if the death penalty would be restored in the country.
Over the weekend, Duterte said he would use the reimposition of capital punishment against the drug criminals.
“Restore it and I will execute criminals every day—five or six. That’s for real,” Duterte said last Saturday.
But Robredo, who recently resigned from the Cabinet of President as his housing czar, found Duterte’s plan alarming.
“Nakakabahala ang pahayag ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na plano niyang pumatay ng lima o anim na mga bilanggo kapag naibalik ang parusang kamatayan sa ating bansa (The statement of President Rodrigo Duterte on his plan to kill five to six convicts once death penalty is restored is alarming),” Robredo said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Lalo pang higit ngayong 78% ng mga Pilipino ang natatakot maging biktima ng extrajudicial killings (Especially now that 78% of Filipinos are afraid to become victims of extrajudicial killings),” she said.
Robredo said instilling fear among the public for the Duterte administration’s drug war also means failing to keep the innocent civilians safe from all the killings.
“Binigo natin ang sambayanan kung pati ang mga inosenteng tao ay natatakot at pinangangambahan ang kanilang kaligtasan (It our failure if innocent people are scared of and nervous about their safety),” Robredo said.
Instead of encouraging the culture of death and impunity, Robredo said Duterte should prioritize producing quality jobs, education and free hospitalization for the people.
“Sa halip na isulong ng pamahalaan ang kultura ng kamatayan at karahasan, bakit hindi natin mas bigyang pansin ang pangunahing pangangailangan ng bawat Pilipino—trabaho, dekalidad na edukasyon, libreng gamot at pang-ospital, at iba pa (Instead of pushing for the culture of death and violence, the administration should focus on addressing the basic need of every Filipino—jobs, quality education, free medicine and hospitalizaion, among others),” she said.
“Ang tunay na sagot sa pagsupil sa mga krimen ay ang maigting na pagpapatupad ng mga batas at ang pagtutulungan ng mamamayan at pamahalaan (The genuine solutions to busting crimes are strict law implementation and cooperation of the citizens and government),” Robredo, a former human rights lawyer, added.
RELATED STORY