Death penalty is dead — Drilon

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the controversial bill restoring death penalty in the country was already dead in the Senate with 13 senators “likely to vote” against it.

“By my own estimate, there are at least thirteen senators who will block the passage of the death penalty bill, including the six-member minority group and seven from the majority block,” Drilon said in a statement on Wednesday.

“It’s dead and the chances of resurrecting it before we even bring it to a vote are very slim, if not zero, at least in this Congress,” he said.

Drilon did not name the 13 senators he was referring to but noted that all six members of the Senate minority bloc, including him, are against the death penalty bill.

Aside from Drilon, the five other minority members are Deputy Minority Leader Bam Aquino, Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, and Leila De Lima, Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV and Risa Hontiveros.

Drilon, Aquino, De Lima and Pangilinan all belong to the Liberal party (LP).

Drilon said another LP member, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, is also against the controversial measure. Recto is part of the majority group.

“We are ready to lead the fight against the death penalty bill. We believe that a death penalty law was not and will never be an effective deterrence against crime,” the Minority Leader said.

“It will be detrimental to the poor who will be made victims of this cruel and inhumane punishment due to the inefficiencies of our judicial system,” he added.

Drilon noted that there are only five senators, who have openly indicated support for the bill through the media led by Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Senators Manny Pacquiao, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Win Gatchalian, and Cynthia Villar.

“It does not appear to have the votes it needed. It is the end of the road for the proposal,” the opposition leader added. CBB