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Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Downward spiral

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Now that the Christmas and New Year holidays are behind us, we slide back into the business of government.

One of the first things we watch out for is the congressional move to restore the death penalty, upon the prodding of no less than President Rodrigo Duterte who is keen on casting terror among those involved in the drug trade.

The President says he is resorting to these drastic measures to contain the drug menace that threatens to turn the country into a narco-state and destroy the next generations. He has also said, though we do not know if he was being truthful or emphatic, that he would like to see several state executions, in a variety of manners, every day.

This was briefly taken up at the House of Representatives last year, but our lawmakers said they were setting it aside in the spirit of the holidays and would revert to it in January.

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And now it is January.

All the arguments appear to have been exhausted: How state-sponsored executions have not been proven to deter crime, how the death penalty runs counter to the idea of restorative justice, and how an imperfect justice system worsens the situation because innocent men may be put to death while the truly guilty can go scot-free.

There are also arguments based on religion.

We can only repeat these and hope the supposedly enlightened lawmakers find it in their hearts to vote against something fundamentally opposable. This, instead of going along with the wishes of an incumbent administration that single-mindedly pursues an objective no matter the cost or damage.

The thought of death penalty in a country like the Philippines with a system so skewed, imperfect and oppressive can only sow terror among the boldest among us.

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