Arroyo allies, critics thumb down death penalty revival

Both allies and critics of the Arroyo administration thumbed down proposals to reimpose the death penalty as outrage over the Maguindanao massacre that claimed at least 57 lives triggered calls for the revival of capital punishment. Administration standard bearer Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said innocent people are likely the ones who would suffer from such punishment due to the country’s poor justice system. “I’m not for the death penalty. Maraming innocent na pwedeng bitayin, maniwala kayo. Kung pwede lang patawan, patawan (We could hang many innocents, believe me. We could impose death, why not), but not in the justice system we have," he told reporters after visiting Serrano Elementary School in Valenzuela City. Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II, the vice presidential candidate of the oppositionist Liberal Party, likewise said an efficient justice system and not the death penalty was the best deterrent to crime. "Mababalewala ang death penalty kung hindi nahuhuli, hindi napa-file-an ng kaso at hindi nako-convict ang mga salarin (Death penalty is futile if the culprits are not arrested, charged, and convicted)," he said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. "We must subject the suspects to due process and full investigation," he added. Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in last Monday's grisly massacre in Maguindanao province, is now detained at National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office and awaiting to undergo precisely such a process. [See: Ampatuan detained at NBI, blames MILF for massacre] Despite the gruesome murder, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the country does not need reimposing the death penalty to arrest members of the Ampatuan clan. The death penalty law was passed in 1992 but was abolished 14 years later in 2006 by President Gloria Macapagal right before she flew to Vatican City for an audience with the Pope. There must be a "consensus" before the death penalty can be reimposed, House Speaker Prospero Nograles said. "The problem there [in Maguindanao] is not a problem everywhere. Let's debate on it," he said in a text message to reporters. "Each province is unique and governed differently by local leaders. Like Davao City, it also has death squad problems," added Nograles. – JV, GMANew.TV