Pangilinan vows to stop death penalty bill at Senate

Senator Francis Pangillinan. (Photo by RICHARD A. REYES/Philippine Daily Inquirer)

As president of the Liberal Party (LP), Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Tuesday vowed to stop the passage of the death penalty in the Senate.

“We maintain that death penalty is cruel, degrading, and inhuman. We commit to stopping the death penalty in the Senate,” Pangilinan said.

The senator issued the statement shortly after the House of Representatives, voting 216-54 with one abstention, approved the bill this Tuesday.

READ: House approves death penalty bill with 216 yes votes

“We are saddened that the minority in the House was not given the chance to debate the bill in full. Without the benefit of a full debate, we are now in the dark as to the compelling reasons that merit a constitutional return of the death penalty,” Pangilinan said.

Aside from Pangilinan, there are three other LP members in the Senate and they are Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senator Benigno Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV and Leila de Lima. The LP senators have repeatedly stated their opposition to the death penalty bill.

Among those who have openly expressed their opposition against the measure are Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Richard Gordon, Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Senate Majority Leader Ralph Recto.

All four LP senators, including Hontiveros and Trillanes, are in the minority bloc while Recto, Gordon and Escudero belong to the Senate majority group. RAM

READ: 10 out of 24 senators pro-death penalty–Gordon