Peoples’ lawyers slam ‘anti-poor’ call for death penalty

DEATH PENALTY revival is among the bills that President Rodrigo Duterte called on Congress to pass during his 5th State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the House of Representatives Complex in Quezon City on July 27, 2020. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu chapter of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) has expressed opposition against President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for the revival of the capital punishment, tagging the lobbied policy as “anti-poor.”

Mr. Duterte, during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 25, 2020, called on Congress to swiftly pass a law that would revive the death penalty using lethal injection.

The president wanted the death penalty as punishment for drug-related crimes.

Duterte, whose popularity before and after he was sworn to office was anchored on his “war on drugs” campaign, said the reinstatement of capital punishment would “not only deter criminality but also protect our children from the dangers posed by illegal drugs.”

Duterte-allied lawmakers make up the “super majority” in the House of Representatives.

READ: SONA 2020: Duterte calls for death penalty revival anew

“Although the reimposition of death penalty is intended to deter crimes and save children from the dangers of illegal drugs, NUPL Cebu believes that reviving the law is another anti-poor policy that would selectively target millions of helpless Filipinos, as observed in the ongoing war on drugs of the present administration and the selective enforcement of laws amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” NUPL Cebu said.

The lawyers’ group also cited studies that found that the death penalty does not “completely deter crimes.”

They also pointed out that there are numerous cases of wrongly convicted persons “who may be unrightfully subjected to death when the proposed measure takes effect. “

“To revive death penalty is unspeakably regressive, bearing in mind the landmark passage of Republic Act No. 9346 abolishing death penalty in the Philippines in 2006,” NUPL Cebu said.

“NUPL Cebu would rather urge the President to call for the fixing of the justice and law enforcement systems first to assure the fair and impartial investigation and disposition of cases before implementing a legislation that is necessarily cruel and inhuman,” it added.

The group also reminded that reinstating death penalty runs contrary to the country’s international obligations under the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

For the lawyers’ group, championing the revival of death penalty “reaffirms the present administration’s commitment to disregard one’s right to life and liberty through the passage and implementation of anti-democratic and oppressive laws and policies.”/dbs