Cordi youth group slams approval of death penalty
>> Thursday, March 16, 2017
By King
Cris P. Pulmano
BAGUIO CITY- The
Cordillera Anakbayan youth group expressed dismay over approval of the death
penalty bill without “ample deliberation” among legislators in the House of
Representatives.
The group claimed the
passing of the bill unjust as it bypassed democratic processes in the Lower
House.
Luke Bagangan,
secretary-general of Anakbayan Cordillera said the period of interpellation and
proposals for individual amendments were cut short by the house leadership.
Quoting the criticism
of Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Carlos Zarate, Bagangan said lawmakers were barred
from airing their opposition as the passage of the bill was being “rushed.”
Bayan Muna, together
with other party members of Makabayang Koalisyon ng Mamamayan (Makabayan)
expressed opposition to the bill.
Zarate said House
members, including those from the Makabayan, were not given enough venue to
register their opposition and to propose amendments.
“It is alarming to
know that democratic legislative processes were not able to smoothly run its
course. We somehow expected the house approval of death penalty bill but this
is far too early if proposals of anti-death penalty solons were considered,”
said Bagangan.
Bagangan said the bill
should be discussed more as several human rights and church groups have already
registered their disapproval.
Any bill, especially
if as important as the issue death penalty, should be well deliberated. We are
talking of taking lives here, thus our lawmakers should not be hasty in making
decision.
The group added that
pro-death penalty legislators have yet to establish reasonable basis for the
urgency of the bill as no significant improvement in crime statistics were
recorded during former president Fidel Ramos administration, when death penalty
was still legal.
“Considering the crime
rate during the Ramos regime, the situation is not something to be bragged of.
It is therefore illogical why such bill is being railroaded in the first
place,” added Bagangan.
Anakbayan feared that
such policy may become selective as justice is said to be problematic as
claimed by the said group. “It is no longer an issue whether killing of
criminals is moral or not. It is also an issue whether the justice system in
the country truly upholds fairness,” said the youth leader.
Bagangan claimed that
the so-called “99 percent” of the arrested or killed alleged drug personalities
during the implementation of the administration’s Oplan Tokhang were small-timers
compared to impunity-protected drug lords.
Meanwhile, political
activist will not be spared from possible capital punishment, the group said.
Bureau of Corrections Director General Benjamin Delos Santos earlier recommended rebellion, sedition and coup d’état as actions punishable under a death penalty law.
Bureau of Corrections Director General Benjamin Delos Santos earlier recommended rebellion, sedition and coup d’état as actions punishable under a death penalty law.
“Political activists
especially those being critical of anti-people policies and programs of the
government, usually fall victims of trumped-up charges to silence them. Once
death penalty is revived, opportunist government officials will surely use this
against their critics,” said Bagangan.
Data from human rights
watchdog Karapatan revealed that there are 402 political prisoners all over the
country as of February this year.
Among
them, 30 were arrested under the Duterte presidency.
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