Opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Tuesday scored the leadership’s plan to railroad the death penalty bill by bypassing the plenary debate and putting the bill to a vote next week. Lagman said the Lower House could not act on passing the death penalty bill on Feb. 28 if there is no quorum in the plenary. Lagman scored the leadership for rushing the bill while muzzling the opposition by putting a deadline for the plenary debates. Lawmakers initially wanted to remove plunder from death row, which garnered public backlash compelling Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to call for plunder as punishable with the death penalty. Meanwhile, the death penalty bill in the Senate hit a gridlock after senators centered on the country’s obligations to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which under the Second Optional Protocol states that “Each State Party shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction.” RAM/rga

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 21, 2017 06:55 UTC