Solons had change of heart on capital punishment—House leader

The plenary hall of the House of Representatives. (Photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Several lawmakers had a change of heart about opposing the restoration of the death penalty after the leadership said death would no longer become mandatory in the bill.

During the “Ugnayan sa Batasan” press forum at the House of Representatives on Monday, deputy speaker South Cotabato Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez said several lawmakers initially against the bill now supported the death penalty after death no longer became mandatory.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez earlier said the majority during a caucus last Wednesday agreed that the proposed reimposition of the death penalty would no longer make capital punishment mandatory, giving the judges or justices the option to impose life imprisonment on even the most heinous crimes.

READ: House majority: Death no longer mandatory in capital punishment bill 

“Based on these caucuses, there was a positive result that there is no mandatory imposition of death penalty,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said these pro-life lawmakers decided to support death penalty after the leadership decided to “soften” the restoration of capital punishment by not making death a mandatory punishment.

“In fact, because of that position, a lot of members of the House changed their position. Instead of a hardline ‘No,’ a lot of them accepted. They believed this is more palatable,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said he could not pinpoint the number of lawmakers who had a change of heart.

He said though that with more lawmakers starting to support the controversial measure, the restoration of the death penalty has better chances of seeing the light of day.

“Because of the consensus last week, I can say that the votes that will support the reimposition of death penalty increased,” Hernandez said.

With this amendment on the bill, the death penalty bill has better chances in the lower house than in the Senate, where the bill faces a gridlock as the lawmakers center on the country’s obligations to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which under the Second Optional Protocol states that “Each State Party shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction.”

READ: Solons torn between death penalty and international treaty 

House Bill 4727 restoring death penalty is seen to be a priority legislation in the House of Representatives.

The bill seeks to impose the death penalty on more than 20 heinous offenses, such as rape with homicide, kidnapping for ransom and arson with death.

According to the original version of the bill, the following are punishable by death under the Revised Penal Code—treason, qualified piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, infanticide, rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with homicide, rape, intentional mutilation or arson and destructive arson.

READ: IN THE KNOW: Death penalty

Plunder is also punishable with reclusion perpetua to death according to the Republic Act 7080 or the plunder law as amended by Republic Act 7659.

Some lawmakers, however, believe plunder is no longer punishable with death under the bill, after it was removed from the list under the death penalty bill.

READ: ‘Plunder still in death penalty bill unless removed during amendments’ 

The following offenses under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act are also punishable with death—importation; sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation; maintenance of a den, dive or resort; manufacture; possession of certain quantities of dangerous drugs; cultivation; unlawful prescription; misappropriation or failure to account confiscated, seized or surrendered dangerous drugs; and planting of evidence.

Carnapping is also a criminal offense punishable  by death under the Anti-Carnapping Act or Republic Act 6539.

Justice committee chairperson, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, said the House leadership is willing to reduce the list of crimes punishable by death only to the most heinous—drug trade and abuse, murder, kidnapping, carnapping and rape.

Umali said plunder is not as heinous a crime as those committed against persons and life. RAM/rga

READ: House leaders willing to limit scope of crimes punishable by death 


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