Impunity in the streets has reached Congress, says solon

Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat Jr. said Tuesday night he believed that “impunity” on the streets has apparently reached Congress, with allies of President Duterte pressuring those against the revival of the death penalty.

During an INQ&A interview, Baguilat said the death penalty discussions “should be just considered as part of democracy in Congress” even as he acknowledged that Mr. Duterte’s allies have been “really threatening” those who opposed the bill.

“But if you have these threats, as I said, it’s like there’s impunity in Congress,” he said.

Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was recently threatened by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez that she would be ousted as deputy speaker if she continued to oppose the proposed legislation.

The proposed measure is among Alvarez’s pet bills, in line with President Duterte’s earlier pronouncement that he wanted the death penalty for drug offenders. Capital punishment was abolished during the term of then-President Arroyo.

“They are really threatening those who oppose. That’s abnormal for a legislative chamber where people want to debate, be given the free will to decide,” said Baguilat, who leads the so-called “Magnificent 7” or “alternative minority.” “It’s really, ‘Are you for us or against us?’”

Baguilat, also a Liberal Party member, said that during the Aquino administration, the President applied pressure but never threatened them.

Baguilat said it was the first time that he had encountered such threats. He also said that some lawmakers also feared of following the example of Sen. Leila de Lima, who is now under threat of prosecution for questioning the drug war.

“They are afraid,” Baguilat said. “They think that if you are bold, they will retaliate.”

“But I think perhaps it’s not the case because that would mean we’re really in a dictatorship, de facto martial law,” he said.

Many legislators remained undecided about the death penalty, which is among the most important bills in the 17th Congress, he said.

“There’s a lot of pressure coming from the representatives. We want it to be a conscience vote but the pressure from the leadership is strong,” he said. “Now if you force it, what will you do to distinguished leaders of the house like the former president?”

Baguilat said members of the Makabayan bloc or the group of progressive party-list representatives allied with the majority, also hold key positions in Congress, and could pull out of the coalition if pressured, he warned.

Baguilat said he was opposing the bill because of his beliefs on human rights, recognition of the problems in the justice system and the economic repercussions of violating an international pact on the abolition of death penalty.

Passage of the death penalty bill could also open up the possibility of passing other controversial bills, including one that lowers the age for criminal liability to 9 years old, he said.