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SC aspirant Katrina Legarda not in favor of death penalty


Ma. Carolina "Katrina" Legarda, a prominent family lawyer, said she will strongly oppose the revival of the death penalty should she be appointed to the Supreme Court (SC). In her interview with the Judicial and Bar Council on Wednesday, Legarda, an advocate of women's and children's rights, said death penalty is not a deterrent to crime in the Philippines. She said fixing the justice system, particulary the investigation process, is the real key to achieving peace and order in the country. She said her experience in working with policemen made her aware that "the police do not know how to investigate properly." "[Death penalty] goes against the grain of fairness that a man is going to be [put to] death due to poor investigation or corruption,' she said. At an ambush interview with reporters later, Legarda likewise said even the suspects in November 23 massacre in Ampatuan, Maguindanao should not be meted with death penalty. The death penalty law was passed in 1992 but was abolished 14 years later in 2006 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo right before she flew to the Vatican City to have an audience with the Pope. 28 aspirants Legarda is among the 28 candidates vying for the SC seat left by Renato Corona when he was named Chief Justice last May 17. President Benigno Aquino III has only until August 17 to name his first appointment to the tribunal, because the 1987 Constitution says a vacancy in the high court must be filled up within 90 days. Earlier in the day, Court of Appeals Associate Justices Remedios Fernando and Portia Hormachuelos faced the Judicial and Bar Council, the body tasked to screen nominees to vacant judicial posts. They talked about their careers in the judiciary, as well as their takes on legal issues. On Wednesday afternoon, lawyer-accountant Epifania Mendoza and former University of the Philippines law dean Raul Pangalangan will face the council. Click here to view the complete list of aspirants. Family law expert Legarda added that her "competence" and "avant-garde, out-of-the-box" thinking makes her qualified to occupy the vacancy in the high tribunal, despite her lack of experience in the judiciary. Legarda, a known family lawyer, has been in private practice and in the academe throughout her three-decade career. She is a professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the College of Medicine of the University of the Philippines and a lecturer at the Philippine Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court. She rose to prominence during the trial of former Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romeo Jalosjos, who was convicted in 1996 for raping an 11-year -old. Legarda was part of the the legal team that successfully prosecuted Jalosjos. In December 1997, the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch convicted Jalosjos of statutory rape and sentenced him to two life terms. The SC affirmed his conviction in 2001 and 2002. In mid-2007, the former congressman's sentence was commuted to 16 years, three months and three days. In March 2009, however, he was released from prison after serving only 13 years because of his good conduct time allowance. –VVP, GMANews.TV

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