MANILA, January 8, 2009— Opposition to renewed calls for the restoration of the death penalty was immediately raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) maintained that taking away life cannot and “will never stop” the commission of crimes.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and some lawmakers said that they want the capital punishment to be revived against convicted drug traffickers.
DBB chairman Vicente “Tito” Sotto said he will personally lobby for the reimposition of the death penalty after it was abolished by the 13th Congress.
PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago, for his part, said such move is pressing since the problem of illegal drugs in the country is already a “security threat.”
The calls were made Thursday amid the controversy generated by the “Alabang boys”—a drug case of three drug suspects from elite families—Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Tecson.
The row turned more controversial after an alleged bribery involving government prosecutors under the Department of Justice in exchange for the dismissal of a case against the three suspects.
According to ECPPC executive secretary Rodolfo Diamante, crimes such as drug trafficking continue to exist because some powerful government authorities are tolerating it.
“The system is weak. It’s prone to corruption and so it loses credibility. That is why the people get bold to commit crime because they know they can beat the system,” said Diamante.
The Church prison ministry official said that death penalty proponents must “think hard” on the real issue behind the spread of crimes.
“The problem is that they always think the death penalty is the deterrent but it’s not. Because if it really is, then crimes like terrorism, rape, corruption and other hard crimes [will never be committed],” Diamante said.
Officials, he said, must conduct “deeper study and analysis for solution and be resolute to carry on the necessary action and have the will power.” (Roy Lagarde)
