No death penalty debate with 3 ‘narco-congressmen’ in House–Atienza

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza on Wednesday said he would block the plenary debates on the death penalty while the three alleged narcopoliticians are still in Congress.

In a press conference by the minority bloc in the House of Representatives, the pro-life lawmaker said he would not be willing to debate on the floor with these three congressmen still in the halls of Congress.

“You are entrusting [the] faith of [the] nation in Congress where three congressmen are suspected drug [lords]? I cannot, I will not,” Atienza said.

The proposed reimposition of capital punishment is set to be sponsored and debated on the floor Wednesday afternoon during session.

READ: Death penalty bill reaches House plenary

House leaders Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and majority leader Rudy Fariñas had revealed that three congressmen–two from Luzon, and one from Mindanao–are part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s “narco-list” of suspected drug personalities.

But the House leaders have refused to identify the narco-solons to give them an opportunity to clear their names.

“Unless we clarify this issue, I believe we should not discuss the death penalty… It would be the height of irresponsibility if we debate with three suspected drug lords,” Atienza said.

READ: Two Luzon solons in Duterte ‘narco list’–Fariñas

In a separate press conference, Speaker Alvarez said there is no relation between the narcolist and the moves to restore death penalty in Congress.

“We’re still validating the veracity of the list to be fair to the persons involved… Walang relasyong yung narcolist sa death penalty bill (The narcolist has nothing to do with the death penalty bill),” Alvarez said.

The legislation restoring death penalty is seen to be a priority legislation in the House of Representatives.

The bill seeks to impose death penalty on more than 20 heinous offenses, such as rape with homicide, kidnapping for ransom, and arson with death.

READ: Death penalty ‘priority’ bill of lower house — Umali

Speaker Alvarez, Duterte’s staunch ally in Congress, was among those who filed the bill seeking to reimpose the death penalty after former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo abolished capital punishment in 2006 for its failure to deter crime.

Alvarez filed the bill pursuant to President Duterte’s campaign promise of returning capital punishment against heinous criminals.

READ: First bill in Congress seeks reinstatement of death penalty

Alvarez’s bill sought to reimpose the death penalty for heinous crimes listed under Republic Act 7659, including murder, plunder, rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, sale, use and possession of illegal drugs, carnapping with homicide, among others.

In the bill he co-authored, Alvarez said there is a need to reimpose the death penalty because “the national crime rate has grown to such alarming proportions requiring an all-out offensive against all forms of felonious acts.”

“Philippine society is left with no option but to deal with certain grievous offenders in a manner commensurate to the gravity, perversity, atrociousness and repugnance of their crimes,” according to the bill.

Duterte won the elections on a campaign promise to restore the death penalty by hanging, even making a snide remark that the convict’s head should be severed by hanging. Alvarez said Congress would look into the cheapest way for the death penalty, either by firing squad, lethal injection or by hanging. CDG