MANILA, 17 April 2006 — Crime victims were outraged while death row inmates rejoiced yesterday as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that she was commuting death sentences to life imprisonment — a move that could save about 1,200 convicts of “heinous crimes.”
In an Easter announcement apparently intended to mollify critical leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, Arroyo said the death sentence would be commuted to life in prison, but did not say whether she would move to legally abolish the death penalty, which has not been carried out in the Philippines since 2000.
Arroyo has once said that languishing amid the appalling conditions in Philippine jails was worse than death itself.
Teresita Ang-See, a leader of the anti-crime Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, said kidnap victim in the group were shocked, especially as there had been a resurgence of kidnappings lately.
“They’re not only dismayed, they’re also shocked by that announcement. It’s the height of insensitivity and callousness,” she said.
She said there was a feeling that Arroyo was making a “political gesture” to get the full support of the influential Catholic Church, which has been urging Congress to abolish the death penalty.
“But she does not give consideration to victims of heinous crimes,” she added.
Ang-See said the decision is not only “ill-advised” but also ill-timed.
Arroyo’s decision is likely also to unnerve Chinese Filipino businessmen who have been the prime target of kidnappers in past years. A group of Chinese traders, worried by new kidnappings, recently appealed to Arroyo to set an example by executing convicted kidnappers, Ang-See said.
At least 11 militants belonging to the Abu Sayyaf, a small Al-Qaeda-linked group blamed for deadly bombings and kidnappings, are on death row.
Dante Jimenez, chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, said the commutations could affect the drive against criminality.
“She (Arroyo) should have consulted the families of victims of heinous crimes,” said Jimenez, whose group is composed of relatives of victims of high-profile crimes.
Maria Socorro Diokno, secretary-general of the Free Legal Assistance Group, which provides legal counsel to poor inmates said those on death row were delighted by the news.
“They’re really very, very happy. They’re ecstatic,” Diokno said.
Diokno, however, said Arroyo urgently certify a congressional bill seeking the abolition of the death penalty.
Under the Philippine Constitution, the president can only commute death sentences that have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 1987 but was reimposed by Congress in 1994 following a wave of heinous crimes. The court has only upheld about 100 death sentences while the rest are under review, she said.
The executions, however, started only in 1999 and since then only seven death convicts were executed by lethal injection.
Since Arroyo became president in 2001, no death sentence has been carried out.
According to the Bureau of Corrections, there are currently 1,174 men and 31 women on death row. The top three crimes of death row convicts were rape, murder and kidnapping for ransom.
Political Motive
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said the new policy covers those already convicted and those that would be sentenced to death in the future. However, it does not abolish the death penalty, which would require approval by Congress.
Arroyo’s adviser for political affairs denied that her decision was designed to woo the Catholic Church, which recently said it was concerned about the government’s rush to amend the constitution to create a parliamentary political system, replacing the presidential setup.
“The public can be assured that she exercised prerogative with judiciousness and only after thorough reflection,” said Gabriel Claudio. “There are no political motives.”
Former President Fidel Ramos, under whose term the death penalty was reimposed, wondered if Arroyo’s advisers had thoroughly studied the implications of the decision, pointing out that the international community has been imposing capital punishment to deter global terrorism.
“I hope the president and her advisers studied this very carefully,” Ramos said at a press conference held yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. “Let us make sure that all the implications, considering the history of the death penalty law in our country, have all been properly considered, assessed, evaluated because there is now international terrorism around the world,” he said.
Ramos left for Bali, Indonesia yesterday afternoon to attend the third meeting of the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group (EPG) to start Monday and end on April 19.
Ramos said that he felt “very safe going there because of the actions already taken by the Indonesian government,” referring to the death sentence the court imposed on the three terrorists convicted of carrying out the Bali bombing in October 2002.
Juvenile Justice Bill
Encouraged by the new policy, a lawmaker asked President Arroyo to sign into law a bill that takes minors away from the company of criminals in seedy jails.
“Take care of the nation’s children first,” Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said on Saturday as he pressed the president to immediately sign into law the juvenile justice bill. “As President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gives attention to adults beyond bars, I ask the president to also prioritize the plight of children who suffer the harsh conditions of incarceration,” he added in a statement.
“ I call on her to immediately sign the juvenile justice bill that will get children in conflict with the law out of jails and in rehabilitation programs.”
The bill, authored by Pangilinan, addresses the plight of children incarcerated along with adult criminals and was passed by the bicameral conference committee of Congress in late March. It is awaiting Malacañang’s approval. (With reports from Inquirer News Service & Agencies)
