Gordon calls for deferment of scrapping death penalty
BY RONNIE E. CALUMPITA, The Manila Times Reporter
Sen. Richard Gordon on Saturday called for the deferment of the abolition of the death penalty and instead asked the government to improve the criminal investigation system first.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committees on Constitutional Amendments and on Revision of Codes and Laws, explained that death penalty cannot just be scrapped because there are victims of heinous crimes who are asking for justice for themselves and their families.
"We cannot just sit idly by and abolish the death penalty while at the same time be inattentive to the fact that there are constant killings here in our country and the government does not seem to have the capability to properly investigate these crimes, as well as to stop these killings on the streets," he pointed out.
Gordon, who supports the abolition of death penalty, said that authorities should be careful in determining the perpetrators and to be able to do that they should improve its criminal investigation system.
He said that before imposing the capital punishment, the guilt of the accused must be first established beyond reasonable doubt through exact forensic methods like DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing.
"I fear for those victims who may think that when the perpetrators of these crimes are captured, they might escape retributive justice. However, I would rather make sure that we indeed punish the guilty ones, rather than have them killed and find out that we have made a mistake later on," he added.
Gordon, whose father was assassinated and whose niece was also brutally killed by a houseboy, said that improving criminal investigation will also deter crime commission and not just solving the crime of knowing the perpetrators.
"I think there is already one death too many and certainly one death too many we will have if we do not have the necessary capability to investigate these crimes. There is a need to really put out the measures necessary to provide our police and law-enforcement officers with the wherewithal to be able to make sure that when they investigate, whether it involves a crime punishable by the death penalty or not, they have the required science and the required capability to do the investigation and deliver justice on behalf of the state," Gordon added.
The Senate is expected to pass Senate Bill 2254 seeking to abolish the death penalty before Congress adjourns next week, Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, said.
"We also recognize the urgency of enacting into law the bills proposing for the abolition of death penalty. Thus even if we are swamped with priority bills that we have to pass before adjournment next week and of course the budget, we manage to speed up this important measure as well," Villar stressed.
Senate Bills 694 of Villar, 226 of Sen. Serge Osmeña and 1143 of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., which are all pertaining to the abolition of the capital punishment, have been consolidated under Senate Bill 2254, the plenary discussion of which started on Thursday.
Sen. Richard Gordon on Saturday called for the deferment of the abolition of the death penalty and instead asked the government to improve the criminal investigation system first.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate Committees on Constitutional Amendments and on Revision of Codes and Laws, explained that death penalty cannot just be scrapped because there are victims of heinous crimes who are asking for justice for themselves and their families.
"We cannot just sit idly by and abolish the death penalty while at the same time be inattentive to the fact that there are constant killings here in our country and the government does not seem to have the capability to properly investigate these crimes, as well as to stop these killings on the streets," he pointed out.
Gordon, who supports the abolition of death penalty, said that authorities should be careful in determining the perpetrators and to be able to do that they should improve its criminal investigation system.
He said that before imposing the capital punishment, the guilt of the accused must be first established beyond reasonable doubt through exact forensic methods like DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing.
"I fear for those victims who may think that when the perpetrators of these crimes are captured, they might escape retributive justice. However, I would rather make sure that we indeed punish the guilty ones, rather than have them killed and find out that we have made a mistake later on," he added.
Gordon, whose father was assassinated and whose niece was also brutally killed by a houseboy, said that improving criminal investigation will also deter crime commission and not just solving the crime of knowing the perpetrators.
"I think there is already one death too many and certainly one death too many we will have if we do not have the necessary capability to investigate these crimes. There is a need to really put out the measures necessary to provide our police and law-enforcement officers with the wherewithal to be able to make sure that when they investigate, whether it involves a crime punishable by the death penalty or not, they have the required science and the required capability to do the investigation and deliver justice on behalf of the state," Gordon added.
The Senate is expected to pass Senate Bill 2254 seeking to abolish the death penalty before Congress adjourns next week, Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, said.
"We also recognize the urgency of enacting into law the bills proposing for the abolition of death penalty. Thus even if we are swamped with priority bills that we have to pass before adjournment next week and of course the budget, we manage to speed up this important measure as well," Villar stressed.
Senate Bills 694 of Villar, 226 of Sen. Serge Osmeña and 1143 of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., which are all pertaining to the abolition of the capital punishment, have been consolidated under Senate Bill 2254, the plenary discussion of which started on Thursday.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
9:31 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home