Post by ela on Jun 10, 2006 12:29:36 GMT -5
Parliament approves abolition of death penalty
MANILA, Philippines _ The Philippine Senate on Tuesday approved on final reading a bill repealing a 12-year-old death penalty law, moving the country a step closer to abolishing capital punishment.
A similar bill is pending in the House of Representatives. For the death penalty to be formally abolished, both chambers must pass a version to be ratified by Congress and signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The bill was approved by a vote of 16 senators in favor, none against and two abstentions. Five other senators were absent.
Sen. Jose «Jinggoy» Estrada, a son of ousted President Joseph Estrada, said he abstained because he and his father have been indicted for the capital offense of plunder.
The constitution only permits execution for «heinous crimes» such as murder, child rape, and kidnapping.
The Senate bill passed Tuesday says life imprisonment or a 40-year jail term can be imposed instead of death, depending on the offense. The death penalty law took effect in 1994 at the height of a crime spree, when victims' families demanded capital punishment.
Arroyo has said she would support abolishing the death penalty, and has certified as «urgent» the bill repealing capital punishment.
In April, she said she would commute death sentences to life imprisonment, drawing mixed reactions from crime victims and death penalty opponents _ and flak from critics, who said she's only after support from church leaders in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country.
The critics say she also wants backing from the international community, which is concerned over her accusations her government is becoming more repressive.
Arroyo's decision would save the lives of about 1,200 death-row convicts _ including at least 11 al-Qaida-linked militants.
No execution has taken place in the Philippines since 2000.
Human rights lawyer and anti-death penalty advocate Theodore Te hailed the Senate decision as «one more nail in the coffin» of the death penalty law.
He urged the House of Representatives to approve a similar bill.
Source: Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines _ The Philippine Senate on Tuesday approved on final reading a bill repealing a 12-year-old death penalty law, moving the country a step closer to abolishing capital punishment.
A similar bill is pending in the House of Representatives. For the death penalty to be formally abolished, both chambers must pass a version to be ratified by Congress and signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The bill was approved by a vote of 16 senators in favor, none against and two abstentions. Five other senators were absent.
Sen. Jose «Jinggoy» Estrada, a son of ousted President Joseph Estrada, said he abstained because he and his father have been indicted for the capital offense of plunder.
The constitution only permits execution for «heinous crimes» such as murder, child rape, and kidnapping.
The Senate bill passed Tuesday says life imprisonment or a 40-year jail term can be imposed instead of death, depending on the offense. The death penalty law took effect in 1994 at the height of a crime spree, when victims' families demanded capital punishment.
Arroyo has said she would support abolishing the death penalty, and has certified as «urgent» the bill repealing capital punishment.
In April, she said she would commute death sentences to life imprisonment, drawing mixed reactions from crime victims and death penalty opponents _ and flak from critics, who said she's only after support from church leaders in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country.
The critics say she also wants backing from the international community, which is concerned over her accusations her government is becoming more repressive.
Arroyo's decision would save the lives of about 1,200 death-row convicts _ including at least 11 al-Qaida-linked militants.
No execution has taken place in the Philippines since 2000.
Human rights lawyer and anti-death penalty advocate Theodore Te hailed the Senate decision as «one more nail in the coffin» of the death penalty law.
He urged the House of Representatives to approve a similar bill.
Source: Associated Press