MANILA – The re-imposition of death penalty in the Philippines is now up to the Senate.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said this after the Catholic Church rejected the bill, calling it “inadmissible.”
“I think the matter of the death penalty is in the hands of the senators now. So we leave it to the Senate whatever decision it may have,” Roque stressed.
But the Palace official reiterated that the restoration of death penalty remains to be President Rodrigo Duterte’s top priority.
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he will “think it over.”
“I’ll try to find some kind of a compromise,” added Sotto, who favors the re-imposition of death penalty for high-level drug trafficking cases.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara said his colleagues are “divided” on the matter.
The bill “does not seem to be moving in the Senate,” Angara added.
Senators who are allied with the opposition Liberal Party (LP) thumbed down the proposed legislation.
“The LP senators oppose the restoration of the death penalty. We do not see it as a deterrent to crime,” said LP president Sen. Francis Pangilinan./PN
