Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza has a startling suggestion to congressmen who want to tinker with the Constitution and restore the death penalty. He suggests that capital punishment should be meted out not only to those guilty of heinous crimes such as murder, kidnapping and rape, but also to those found guilty of graft and plunder.
Atienza’s proposal, for sure, won’t endear him to his peers at the House of Representatives, many of whom want to convene Congress into a Constituent Assembly instead of having the people elect delegates to a Constitutional Convention. Lito loathes the idea of Con-Ass. He says congressmen acting as self-appointed delegates to rewrite the Charter would possibly look after their own interests particularly ignoring the public clamor to abolish political dynasties.
He asked what made President Rodrigo change his mind to favor Con-Ass when during the campaign, he advocated federalism and Constitutional Convention as the way to go to amend the Charter. Digong won the presidency partly for these twin proposals, Atienza recalled.
His morbid fear of changing the Constitution, he said, was that a supermajority in Congress might slip in an amendment that would allow the extension of the President’s six-year term or reduce it to four years with room for reelection. The four-year presidential term allowing reelection was the setup before the 1987 Constitution approved during the revolutionary government of former President Cory Aquino. There was an attempt through a million-signatures campaign, to extend the president’s term. It failed because the people were against it.
“Instead of restoring the death penalty, legislators should focus on improving the criminal justice system,” said Atienza, a staunch pro-life advocate. He noted the glacial pace of prosecuting the accused which he noted often took years for the state to wind up. He quoted the adage “justice delayed is justice denied.” He cited the case of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who languished for nearly six years under hospital detention instead of being allowed to get medical attention abroad. Legal experts believe Arroyo should have been granted bail and the state pressing its case. The prosecution wasted nearly five years and still came up short in presenting solid evidence against the former president, prompting the Sandiganbayan to junk the case.
Atienza also plans to file a bill in the House to reform the penal system in view of drug convicts carrying out business as usual at the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa. An alleged extortion of drug money was exposed against former Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila de Lima. who reportedly used the funds in her senatorial campaign. De Lima has denied the charges.
“It’s outrageous that these convicts with the complicity of prison guards and officials are able to continue their illicit drug trade within prison walls with the use of cellphones to give instructions to their contacts outside, “ said Atienza. A joint Senate justice and blue ribbon committee hearing showed the extent of the influence high profile inmates have over prison authorities.
A new “state-of-the-art” prison facility being planned in Nueva Ecija is not going to solve the problem unless there is a sweeping overhaul of officials in charge of the penal system,” Atienza said. At most, the huge prison facility would only decongest the overcrowded penitentiary in Muntinlupa. But the same irregular practice of rich inmates living with all the comforts of life like air conditioning, bathtubs with jacuzzis, flat TV and regular visits of high priced prostitutes.
Prison inmates refer to dark skinned call girls as “tilapia” while the fair complexion ones are referred to as “bangus,” something the small-fry inmates can only taste in their meager meal allowance. In the privacy of their “kubols” or personal make shift quarters, the Very Important Prisoners get more than a conjugal visit.
Incidentally, this is the first time Atienza did not go to see the Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas. His reason: Manny promised he would retire win or lose against Timothy Bradley in their return bout but did not. Lito expressed his concern for the friend he hoped would enjoy a good life with the fortune made from boxing.
“I’m glad Manny won against Jessie Vargas to win the World Boxing Organization boxing title. Now’s the time to retire as a champion,” said Lito. He suggested that perhaps Manny can spare some time to help train Filipino boxers win their first gold medal in the Olympics. Anthony Villanueva and Mansueto Velasco came close but settled for silver.