Pro-death penalty bill could be passed in 3 to 4 months –solon

A bill calling for the revival of the death penalty may be passed by the House of Representatives within the year, after President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, its staunch proponent, sought the help of the chamber's leaders to pass it, a lawmaker said Thursday.

In an interview, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said passing the bill "is doable in three to four months," adding that he expects around 80 percent of his colleagues to vote for the bill during congressional deliberations.

Suarez was among the lawmakers Duterte met in Davao City last Tuesday to discuss the bills he would certify as urgent. Also in attendance were House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, among others.

Suarez said the proposed measure reinstating capital punishment is the first priority bill Duterte — the outgoing mayor of Davao City known for his strong anti-crime stance — wants to be passed.

"Ang una ay ‘yung death penalty. He mentioned how serious this problem [on criminality] was already," he said.

The Quezon lawmaker, a stalwart of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), is eyeing to become the Minority Floor Leader in the incoming 17th Congress, while Alvarez has picked Fariñas to become the Majority Leader.

No expected rough sailing in Senate

Since Duterte’s allies in the Senate and House of Representatives have clinched the support of a “super majority” of their colleagues, Suarez said the legislative branch should be able to fast track the passage of a measure on capital punishment.

The bill is also not expected to face rough sailing in the Senate, according to Maki Pulido's report on "24 Oras," adding that Sen. Koko Pimentel, who is being eyed as the next Senate President, believes it could be passed in three months.

Even Sen. Tito Sotto, the next likely Senate Majority Leader, believes it is high time for the country to bring back the death penalty.

"Matagal ko nang pinu-push yung death penalty. Nag-iisa nga ako nung araw, lalo na nung ma-repeal. Ako yung original author nung reimposition nun," he said in the same report.

Death by hanging

During their meeting in Davao City, Suarez recalled that Duterte expressed preference for carrying out the death penalty through hanging rather than lethal injection.

He said the President-elect was convinced that bringing back capital punishment would go a long way in curbing criminality.

"He articulated on the death penalty, saying it will be a strong deterrent if we will be hanging 50 [persons] a month," Suarez said. "Ang sabi pa nga niya kung hindi niya maso-solve ang criminality, mahihirapan siyang magawa ang mga gusto niya sa gobyerno."

Asked on how Duterte would be able to carry out his goal of executing 50 convicts monthly considering that obtaining a conviction for death penalty takes years, Suarez said what the President-elect likely meant is the swift elimination of drug lords.

“What he’s (Duterte) saying is elimination of big drug lords ASAP. If I can read between the lines, palagay ko regardless of how he’ll do it, he will be Machiavellian. The end justifies the means,” he said.

Expect a showdown

For his part, Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon believes passing a pro-death penalty bill could hit a few bumps even if Duterte’s allies gain control of Congress.

"I think there’s going to be a showdown on the death penalty. Even if there’s a super majority in Congress, the public will [not] take this sitting down. I’m quite certain interest groups like the Church, human rights organizations— including those within Bayan (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan) — will be going to the streets and protesting," he said.

While admitting that he will no longer be part of the next Congress, Ridon said he is sure the progressive Makabayan bloc would remain critical of the measure even if it joins the super majority coalition.

"I'm quite certain that members of the Makabayan bloc— assuming they will be part of the majority— will raise the difficult questions on death penalty, particularly on the question of how we can be certain that those who will be subjected to it ought to be convicted for their crimes," he said.

One of those opposed in the reimposition of capital punishment is outgoing Justice secretary Emmanuel Caparas, who said Congress should consider the country's international commitments with regards to the death penalty.

"These obligations and commitments have to be reviewed as well because that will have an impact on us," he said in the "24 Oras" report. "All of these will have an impact on us the minute we changed this policy."

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), for its part, said it is against the death penalty as "it has been shown to be discriminatory against the poor and the marginalized."

"The punishment of death is not the deterrent," it said in a statement. "Past surveys have shown a rise in heinous crimes despite the imposition of the death penalty." —KBK, GMA News