Duterte to solons for death penalty: Why exclude rape, plunder

President Rodrigo Duterte. AP FILE PHOTO

Why were rape and plunder removed from the crimes punishable by death penalty?

President Rodrigo Duterte said he was curious why the two heinous crimes were taken out from the list of crimes punishable by death.

“I really would like to know the rationale of the congress kung bakit. Why is it that rape was taken out and plunder,” Duterte said in an ambush interview in Cagayan de Oro on Friday.

He said rape is considered a heinous crime because it’s a “gross violation of the dignity of a woman.”

“I don’t know why they took (it) out,” he said.

The President said that while he vowed to get rid of corruption, he did not promise to kill plunderers. But despite this, he said he was willing to know the “rationale” why it was excluded by the House of Representatives, a chamber his allies dominate.

“I said I’d stop corruption. I didn’t say I’m going to kill the plunderers. It was not. What was in my mind was that corruption will stop and it will stop,” he said.

The President, however, assured that he would recognize the independence of the Congress in crafting the death penalty bill.

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“I leave to the wisdom of the congressmen kasi sila ‘yung representate ng tao (because they are the people’s representatives),” he said.

The chief executive in pushing for the reimposition of the death penalty, said the people have lost their respect for and fear of the law.

“Ang nawala ‘yung takot ng tao sa batas kaya (The people lost their fear of the law so) everybody was into it,” he said.

On March 1, the House of Representatives approved on second reading the bill seeking to restore the death penalty. The bill, however, was limited to drug-related offenses only.

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This means the bill excluded the crimes of treason, plunder, and rape. IDL