CrimLaw

Death Cases: Philippines:

(1) 87 charges of raping his daughter are dismissed but for the 1 conviction a man is sentenced to death.

But he may never be killed because -

(2) The President of the Philippines has ordered a moratorium on the death penalty.

(a) She seemed to show some possibility of lifting it for kidnappers and drug lords.

(b) Then, "[o]n Tuesday President Arroyo closed the book on the possibility of lifting the moratorium on the death penalty, saying executions do not guarantee a reduction in crime rates."

(c) There was apparently a clamor and then the President's spokesman issued a statement: "The President has made her position clear on this issue and while we respect the position of well meaning sectors pressing for the resumption of executions, we also ask for understanding of the moral reasons of the President to let the moratorium stay in the meantime."

(d) Not buying it, "[m]embers of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) asked the President, in a manifesto, to lift the moratorium on death penalty following the rash of kidnappings and robberies in the country.

They stressed that concerns on peace and order have lately affected business and the economy, as signaled by the drop in the peso's exchange value against the American dollar."

(e) "President Arroyo is reportedly seeking the guidance of the Catholic Church before acting on clamors to lift the moratorium on the death penalty.
. . .
Upon her ascension to power in January 2001, Mrs. Arroyo promised the Catholic hierarchy in the Vatican that she will halt executions of death-row convicts."

Now that's a pretty slick way to pass the buck. We all know that the Church will err on the side of life. Why ask? You may be informed by the Church's position but you don't need to confer with it to know what its position is on this matter.