Senator Bam Aquino. FILE PHOTO
Senator Bam Aquino challenged anti-death penalty advocates on Friday to persuade those pushing for capital punishment that its revival will not solve the country’s pressing problems and will only lead to injustice.
“Challenge po ito sa ating lahat. We have a lot of work to do para makumbinse ang 60 percent ng ating kababayan na mali ang death penalty,” said Aquino during the Lakbay Buhay Laban sa Death Penalty program at the University of Sto. Tomas.
(This is a challenge to all of us. We have a lot of work to do to convince 60 percent of our fellow Filipinos that death penalty is wrong.)
Aquino was referring to the recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, showing that 60 percent of Filipinos support the government’s move to revive the death penalty as a deterrent to crime.
READ: 3 in 5 Filipinos favor death penalty for drug-related crimes—SWS
Aquino said only the poor will suffer from injustice due to inability to defend themselves in court.
Aquino said there is enough time for those against it to conduct more activities and educate Filipinos about capital punishment since the proposed bill has yet to be approved in the committee level.
“Mahaba-haba pa po ito. Kailangan handa tayo hindi lang sa isang martsa kundi sa marami pang martsa. Kailangang handa tayong kausapin ang ating mahal sa buhay at ipaliwanag sa kanila kung bakit tayo naninindigan sa isyung ito,” he said.
(There is a long way to go. We need to be ready not just for one march but many more marches to come. We need to be ready to talk to our loved ones and explain why we are pushing forth this issue.)
The Lakbay Buhay is a 21-day cross-country march organized by anti-death penalty advocates. It started May 4 in Cagayan de Oro and it will end May 24 at the Senate. Eiriel Rain Dollete/INQUIRER.net trainee/JE/rga