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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Death penalty revival nixed; 'Vengeance poisons the heart', says Chel Diokno

Death penalty revival nixed; 'Vengeance poisons the heart', says Chel Diokno

Published Nov 5, 2021 02:11 pm

Human rights lawyer and senatorial candidate Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno reiterated his firm stand against the revival of death penalty even if put in a situation where he had to deal with a heinous crime committed to his own family.

Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

“While I believe in punishment, I also believe that vengeance poisons the heart,” Diokno said Friday, Nov. 5, as he responded to an online query why he is against the death penalty even if his own child becomes a victim of a heinous crime.

“Siyempre bilang tatay, kapag nangyari sa anak ko iyan (Of course as a father, if that happens to my child), I will want vengeance. Pero tingin ko, iba ang vengeance sa punishment,” he added.

“Naniniwala ako na kapag may nagkasala, dapat talaga may parusa (I believe that when you committed a crime, there should be a punishment),” he stressed.

The human rights lawyer said he would do everything to ensure that the perpetrators are punished to the full extent of the law when faced with a situation where his child would become a victim of a heinous crime.

“But killing the person who did it will just make me a killer like him. Gusto ba natin ang isang lipunan na puro killer tayo (Do we want a society where we all are killers)?” Diokno said.

During the 2019 senatorial debate, Diokno was asked “if your child was raped or killed, should the criminal be punished with the death penalty?"

“Tutol na tutol po ako sa death penalty dahil anti-poor po ang death penalty (I am against death penalty because it is anti-poor). It is not the severity of the punishment, but the certainty, that stops crime,” Diokno replied.

Diokno based his answer on the 2004 survey by the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), where it was discovered that 73 percent of death row inmates were poor and unlettered while 81 percent had low-income jobs.

Diokno is the current head of FLAG, a group that provides free legal aid to victims of abuse and poor Filipinos.

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