APHR Condemns Philippine Plans to Reintroduce Death Penalty
Jakarta. Plans to reintroduce the death penalty in the Philippines have been met with condemnation by pro-human rights lawmakers across the region over concerns the archipelago will take another step back in human rights and legal reforms.
Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) issued a statement on Thursday (01/12) calling on Philippine legislators and President Rodrigo Duterte to ditch controversial plans to bring back the death penalty 10 years after it was abolished in 2006, amid a deadly war on drugs which has seen up to 5,000 killed.
“As citizens of Asean, we have looked to the Philippines as a regional leader in the global movement to abolish the death penalty since its decision to do so in 2006,” APHR chairman and Malaysian lawmaker Charles Santiago said in the statement.
“Thus, it would be an incredible setback to our collective struggle if the Philippines were to take the dramatic step backward of reinstating the death penalty. The move would not only indicate a rejection of hard-fought progress, but would cause other Asean nations to question the Philippines’ commitment to the full gamut of international treaties it has signed.”
The bill, tabled earlier this week, enjoys widespread support among Philippine lawmakers, with House Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez “confident” the bill will pass before Christmas, according to CNN Philippines.
The bill targets criminals convicted of “heinous crimes” including rape, terrorism, murder and drug trafficking, although some advocates are pushing for the legislation to include crimes as diverse as piracy, treason and arson.
“We remind Philippine officials that human rights were never a Western concept and that they are rooted in the anti-colonial struggles of developing countries,” APHR vice chairwoman Mu Sochua, a member of the Cambodian National Assembly, said in the statement.
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