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Pro-life group: Death penalty not the solution


MANILA, Philippines - Resurrecting he death penalty to deter heinous crimes such as the bank robbery-massacre and a predawn massacre in Laguna province is an "easy but wrong" solution, a pro-life group said Wednesday. The Coalition Against Death Penalty (CADP) said Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri's approach to solving the crimes by reviving the death penalty was "greatly disturbing." "It merely gives the impression that measures are being taken so as to eradicate crime and that criminality is finally solved. But until such time that the root causes of criminality are aborted, criminality will continue," said CADP spokesman Rodolfo Diamante, in a statement posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website Wednesday night. Diamante is also executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care. He said that instead of working to resurrect the death penalty that President Arroyo repealed in 2006, Zubiri should be more sincere in stopping crime. "If he believes on the sanctity of God-given human life then he should not call on the State apparatus to take away human life even of those who have erred," he said. Diamante urged Zubiri to instead work on the passage of legislation pursuing not only the incarceration but also the rehabilitation of prisoners and restitution to the victims. "He should find another way of defending society that will obviate the need for the death penalty, which only brings out the worst in us all," he added. For his part, San Pablo, Laguna bishop Leo Drona said he regrets the two Laguna incidents so much and felt ashamed that it happened in his diocese despite their efforts to teach morality. "It's a deep shame, and of course, a regret that such huge crimes are happening in our diocese. I think that's a sign that many are loosing the sense of respect for life and human rights," he said. Drona, however, claimed the Church never failed to teach morality and preach to the faithful about the Gospel. "There are really factors that are already beyond our control. I don't see that the Church lacked efforts about this," he said. But the bishop said that because of what could be the country's most murderous week in years, the Church will preach about respect for human life even more. "I've already talked to my priests. I've talked to my catechists and teachers of the diocesan schools to always talk about respect for life, respect for the rights of others," Drona said. - GMANews.TV
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