GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Lacson, Sotto no longer pushing for death penalty
Presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, are no longer supporting the reimposition of death penalty in the country.
During a virtual presser, Lacson shared that he was "converted" after watching the drama film "The Life of David Gale" as he realized that it is more important to save a person's life than executing a convicted individual.
"'Yun ang nakapagpabago ng aking attitude, ng aking pananaw at ng aking perspective tungkol sa death penalty [That's what changed my perspective about death penalty]," Lacson said.
Lacson said he is willing to withdraw the bill he authored calling for reinstatement of the capital punishment for heinous crimes including plunder.
"Namulat 'yung aking kaisipan na mas importante na ma-save 'yung buhay ng isang inosente na na-convict kaysa doon sa mag-execute tayo ng talagang convicted at talagang napatunayang nagkasala. Noong tinimbang ko 'yun, sa tingin ko mas matimbang ma-save 'yung buhay ng wrongly-convicted. So nagbago ang aking pananaw, kaya wi-withdraw ko ang aking finile na bill kung nandiyan pa 'yan," he added.
(I realized that it's more important to save the life of an innocent convict than to kill those who are really convicted. When I weigh my thoughts, I realized it's more important to save the life of a wrongly-convicted individual. I will withdraw the bill if it's still there.)
Under the bill, the following crimes will be punishable by capital punishment: treason, qualified piracy, qualified bribery, parricide, murder, infanticide, rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons, destructive arson, sale, importation, and manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals, and human trafficking, among others.
For his part, Sotto said he has found a better solution than imposing the death penalty. He also admitted that the positions voiced by those against the death penalty actually make sense.
"Maganda rin 'yung position nila eh, 'yung mga kumokontra. Pag-iisipin mong mabuti, tama sila eh, except for high-level drug trafficking, tama sila in most of the reasonings that they were using," Sotto said.
(The critics' positions were actually good. If you think about it, they were right for most of their reasons why they don't support death penalty.)
Sotto proposed that those considered high-level drug traffickers and other heinous criminals should be separated from other convicts, noting that there should be a national penitentiary for them.
Sotto also suggested that there should be regional penitentiaries so that relatives could easily visit their loved ones who are imprisoned.
"Ang national penitentiary alisin mo sa Muntinlupa, gawin mong regional, umpisahan sa Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao... Bakit? Based on studies and research, sinasabi na ang isang convict, ang isang PDL, pag pinasok na sa kulungan at di na dinadalaw ng pamilya, diyan na nag-uumpisang magloko and kung anu-anong kalokohan ang pinapasukan pero pag dinadalaw ng pamilya eh maayos siya," he said.
"In other words, kung mayroon lang ding ibang solusyon, na-convert kami."
(The national penitentiary should be removed in Muntinlupa. It must be regional because based on studies and research, a PDL will start to engage and do hostile acts even in prison if their relatives are no longer visiting them. If there's a better solution, then we are converted.)
Sotto said among the bills he filed when he became senator in 1992 were for the reinstatement of the death penalty.
In 2020, Sotto had said the revival of capital punishment would be among the priorities of the Senate. He had said that he is only in favor of reviving the death penalty if it were to be limited to big-time drug convicts. —KBK, GMA News
