Drilon admits stopping death penalty bills an uphill battle

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon admitted Friday that anti-death penalty senators faced an uphill battle against the proposed re-imposition of the death penalty.

“It will be a tough fight considering that it is an administration-backed legislation and a number of senators have openly endorsed its passage. Let alone our diminished number in the Senate,” Drilon explained in a press statement.

At least four senators, three of them close allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, have filed bills seeking the re-imposition of death penalty: Senators Manny Pacquiao, Ronald dela Rosa, Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, and Panfilo Lacson.

Those who expressed support for the bills included Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Cynthia Villar, Imee Marcos, Aquilino Pimentel III, Juan Edgardo Angara, Pia Cayetano, Bong Revilla, Francis Tolentino, and Lito Lapid.

Nevertheless, Drilon, a former Justice Secretary, vowed to fight “tooth and nail” to block the proposal.

“We strongly and unequivocally oppose the re-imposition of the death penalty. We are prepared to fight it all the way,” he emphasized.

“Notwithstanding these difficulties we will do our best to prevent it. We will never allow the 18th Congress to give license to authorities to kill the poor.”

Drilon explained that given the inadequacies of the criminal justice system, it was likely that death sentences would only be handed out to the poor - the sole victims of this cruel and inhumane punishment.

“It has been proven time and again that capital punishment is not an effective deterrent to crimes. Only the poor will be made victim of this measure,” he said.

International treaties

Furthermore, Drilon pointed out that in 2007, the Philippines signed and ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, mandating the abolition of capital punishment.

The Protocol did not provide for any withdrawal or derogation mechanism, which meant that parties to the Protocol could not reinstate the death penalty without violating international law.

And the Philippines was mandated by no less than by the Constitution to honor its obligations under international treaties which it had ratified.

“Unless this issue is resolved, we cannot have a complete debate, because we will be back to the same question: can the Philippines reimpose the death penalty without any regard to our treaty obligation?” he asked.

aside from Drilon, minority Senators Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros, and Leila De Lima, who is detained, also opposed the bills.

“No justice will be served if it involves taking a life. Let’s be more rational, humane, independent, and conscientious in handling this very sensitive issue,” Drilon said. 

He added the anti-death penalty senators would count on the support of the electorate, a majority of whom strongly opposed the restoration of the death penalty. — DVM, GMA News