8 of 10 Cebu lawmakers voted for death penalty; Del Mar opposed
Up next, the Senate: In the Lower House, 216 voted for the death penalty 11 years after it was suspended, while 54 voted against
Eight representatives from Cebu Province and Lapu-Lapu City formed part of the majority that voted yesterday in favor of killing those found guilty of any of seven drug-related offenses.
A total of 216 members of the House of Representatives voted in favor of House Bill 4727, after a strong push led by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte and amid complaints from the minority that they had not been given enough time to question it.
The offenses covered include importing dangerous drugs; manufacturing, distributing, sell- ing or transporting illegal drugs and controlled precursors; maintaining a drug den; and failing to account for seized drugs.
Among Cebu’s lawmakers, only two did not vote for restoring the death penalty 11 years after then-President Gloria Arroyo’s administration suspended it. Cebu City North District Rep. Raul del Mar joined 53 colleagues who voted against it, saying it would be “cruel, inhuman and barbaric.” His colleague from the south,
Rep. Rodrigo Abella
nosa, abstained.
The House of Representatives yesterday approved on third and final reading the reimposition of the death penalty.
A total of 216 lawmakers supported the passage of the bill, while 54 congressmen stood against it.
Among those who voted against House Bill 4727, which seeks to revive capital punishment for drug-related crimes, were former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto, Cebu City North District Rep. Raul del Mar and Baguio City Lone District Rep. Mark Go.
Del Mar said that the country's justice system is flawed and capital punishment is not the solution to lessen crimes.
"Often only the poor are up in the death row. Errors in assigning blame for crime can happen and have happened. The death penalty is irreversible, it cannot be undone. This method of execution has been found cruel, inhuman and barbaric," he said.
The Cebu lawmaker added that restoring the death penalty bill was a step back for the country. He said more than 140 nations have abolished capital punishment in law and practice. "Restoring capital punishment would be a throwback and setback. We failed to progress, we failed to improve. No to impracticality, no to inhumanity," he said.
Alternative
Del Mar added that instead of reviving the death penalty, the government should strengthen the country's justice system, from police method and equipment to the arrest and prosecution of criminals.
Meanwhile, Cebu's Third District Rep. Gwen Garcia voted in favor of reviving the death penalty along with Quezon City Rep. Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr. and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.
Barbers, who chairs the House committee on dangerous drugs, said he voted "yes" as drugs contribute to many crimes.
"I fully support this measure because like our President, I am fully aware of the dangers, as well as the irreparable damage, that this menace has brought our people, our children and how the entire future of our country has been compromised. Senseless killings, irreversible brain damage and a completely wasted populace are but some of the realities we face with the pro- liferation of illegal drugs," he said.
"Curse"
Cebu City South District Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa abstained during the nominal voting process. Abellanosa said that after consulting his constituents, he decided to abstain as it proves to be a divisive issue in Cebu. "This deeply cut and divided my constituents in almost to an equal degree. I then abstain and propose to submit this highly sensitive issue to a referendum in the future, possibly during the barangay elections in October," he said.
House Minority Floor Leader Lito Atienza again questioned the House leadership for its handling of the third and final reading of the bill in the lower chamber, and accused it of hindering the opposition in questioning the bill.
"The free debate on the basic issue of death penalty, you did not allow. You terminated abruptly without any debate on your basis of your desire not to listen. Today we should have been allowed to speak before the body. You didn't allow us to do that," Atienza said.
The Buhay Party-list representative described the reimposition of the death penalty as a "curse to the predominantly Catholic nation."
The latest version of the bill seeks to punish seven major drug-related offenses. The bill said the penalty of life imprisonment to death and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million will be imposed on any person involved in any of the following acts: importation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals; sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs and/ or controlled precursor and essential chemicals; maintenance of a den, dive or resort where any dangerous drug is used or sold in any form; manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemical; qualifying aggravating circumstances in the commission of a crime by an offender under the influence of dangerous drugs; criminal liability of a public officer or employee for misappropriation, misapplication or failure to account for the confiscated, seized and/or surrendered dangerous drugs; criminal liability for planting evidence.
Capital punishment was last suspended in 2006 by Arroyo. President Rodrigo Duterte, however, called for the passage of the measure to stop the proliferation of drugs and criminality.