De Lima seeks passage of alternative bill to death penalty
Opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Wednesday renewed her call for the bill that offers an alternative to death penalty, which, if passed into law will impose qualified reclusion perpetua without parole on those who are convicted of heinous crimes.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
De Lima is referring to Senate Bill No. 187, the proposed “Qualified Reclusion Perpetua Act,” which she filed last year.
The measure primarily seeks to impose qualified reclusion perpetua without parole on persons found guilty of treason, piracy, murder, infanticide, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons, destructive arson, rape, plunder, and violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“Everywhere in the world, people are looking for ways to keep humans alive during this (COVID-19) pandemic. Everyone is hoping and working to find solutions to save lives,” De Lima said.
She reiterated her opposition to Duterte’s call for Congress to expedite the passage of the measure reimposing the death penalty for crimes specified under the dangerous drugs law in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The detained senator said that rather than pressing for capital punishment, the government should be concerned with addressing the current COVID-19 crisis where thousands of Filipinos have already died due to the pandemic.
The former justice secretary maintained that death penalty is not an effective deterrent to crimes as many factors come into play when a person commits a crime.
De Lima said these include poverty, environment, education, and values: “In fact, the real deterrent effect does not come from simply imposing the severest punishment possible.”
“It comes from effective law enforcement, from heightened crime prevention efforts, and, if those fail, successful and effective crime detection, investigation, and prosecution,” she said.