Unit 1012 awards the Rayner Goddard Act of Courage Award to Philippine
House Speaker, Pantaleon Alvarez for rebuking the Catholic Church for their
opposition to the death penalty:
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PRO-DEATH
PENALTY. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is a co-author of the measure seeking to
reimpose the capital punishment for heinous crimes in the Philippines. Photo by
Rappler
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Alvarez on Church opposition to
death penalty: 'Why protect evil?'
'We are not talking about ordinary crimes. These are
heinous crimes – crimes that are difficult to imagine being committed by a
human being against another human being,' says Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez
MANILA, Philippines –
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has chided the Catholic Church, saying its strong
opposition to the return of the death penalty in the country protects those who
have committed heinous crimes.
On Rappler Talk on Tuesday,
December 13, Alvarez likened such criminals to demons.
"We are not
talking about people who were convicted of ordinary crimes. These are heinous
crimes – meaning, the real crimes, crimes that are difficult to imagine
being committed by a human being against another human being. So much so that
we say sometimes, if that happens, the people who committed these are demons,
right?" Alvarez said in a mix of English and Filipino.
House Bill 1 lists a total
of 21 crimes punishable by death, including treason, parricide, murder,
infanticide, rape, qualified piracy, qualified bribery, kidnapping and serious
illegal detention, robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons,
destructive arson, plunder, drug-related cases, and carnapping.
Alvarez questioned why the
Church is fighting to protect these "evildoers."
"Now, here
comes the Church that wants to protect these evildoers, right? Why? Why do you
want to protect evil? Why do you want evil to triumph over the good? I can’t
understand that," said the Speaker, a co-author of the death penalty bill.
Manila Archbishop Luis
Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas have denounced the reimposition of the
capital punishment, a priority bill of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Tagle has also made an
impassioned appeal for criminals, saying they deserve a second chance. (READ: Cardinal Tagle: 'I will not give up on
criminals')
Other groups and lawmakers
expressed opposition to the death penalty as well, saying it is not a deterrent
to crime.
No killing of youth
offenders
The death penalty bill,
however, is not the only controversial bill co-authored by Alvarez. He is also
behind HB 2, which would lower the
minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 years old to 9 years old.
Groups have warned that
should both House bills 1 and 2 be enacted, the country is in danger of
possibly sentencing a 9-year-old child to death in the future. (READ: Pangilinan to Alvarez: Gravity of
crime, not kids' age, should matter)
Alvarez, however, said this
would not happen. He explained that young offenders will not be sent to jail
with hardened criminals. They will be rehabilitated by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
"Tingnan mo, mga bugok
'yang mga 'yan eh. Ang prinopose natin, ibalik sa 9 years old, 'yung sa dati sa
Revised Penal Code. Meron bang nabitay na 9 years old dati? Wala," said Alvarez. (Listen to
those eggheads. We are proposing to return the minimum age of criminal
responsibility as stated before in the Revised Penal Code. Were there any
9-year-olds killed then? None.)
"Why is this so? The
9-year-olds and 12-year-olds, they will not be imprisoned with hardened
criminals. They will be brought to the DSWD for rehabilitation. It will be
explained to them that they have responsibilities to society," added the
Speaker.
Republic Act 9344 or the
Juvenile Justice Act of 2006 spares convicts who are below 15 years old from
imprisonment, provided they undergo intervention and rehabilitation. (READ: Children in conflict with the law:
Cracks in Juvenile Justice Act)
In 2013, the Juvenile
Justice Act was amended through RA 10630. Section 20-A of the new law allows
children as young as 12 years old to be detained for serious crimes, such as
rape, murder, and homicide, among others.
RA 10630 also mandates
local government units to manage their own Bahay Pag-Asa (Houses of Hope).
These are 24-hour child-caring institutions, as well as centers for intensive
juvenile intervention and support, jointly managed by LGUs and non-governmental
organizations. – Rappler.com
Rappler Talk: House Speaker
Pantaleon Alvarez
What are the Duterte administration's priority
measures? House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez talks to Rappler about these
Rappler.com
Published 3:12 PM, December 13, 2016
Updated 8:41 PM, December 13, 2016
MANILA, Philippines – Rappler talks to Davao del
Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
As Speaker of the House, Alvarez is responsible for
facilitating the passage into law of priority measures under the Duterte
administration. (READ: Pantaleon Alvarez, Duterte’s lieutenant
at the House)
HIGHLIGHTS
On complaints vs Senator Leila de Lima: We did not recommend any charges on the
proliferation of illegal drugs in the New Bilibid prisons. This case we filed
is about the offense committed by Senator Leila de Lima against the House as an
institution. We subpoenaed a witness which she advised to hide. Talagang ito
ay pambabastos. (This is really disrespect.) There was no
inter-parliamentary courtesy. Imagine, you’re a senator, yet you advised a
witness to go into hiding.
On de Lima saying she’s innocent: Senator de Lima is a very scheming person. Ngayon
lang ako naka-encoutner ng ganitong tao. (I’ve never encountered the likes
of her before.) ’Yung attitude na gusto n’yang baligtarin para kunwari
malinis pa rin sya. (She wants to turn the tables on everyone so she comes
out clean.)
On emergency powers to solve the traffic crisis: We’re still studying it. Just because the
administration requested it doesn’t mean we’ll grant blanket authority. We need
to find out their plans, so that what we give them is what is needed. We can’t
grant them excessive power that is not aligned with their plans.
On Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade’s ability
to solve the traffic problem: I have
no doubt, he can do it. I just want to make it clear to the people, what is
this emergency power for?
As a former DOTC secretary, recommendations to the
DOTr: First, to rescind highly
disadvantageous deals that the past administration entered into. Like the
maintenance contracts for trains that, from what we saw, [these companies] had
performed poorly. There were PPPs awarded that worsened the situation... They
should expedite the delivery of the new coaches for the LRT & MRT.
On the procurement law: I really discourage this.That’s were I’m thinking
twice to give the power to negotiate contracts. That’s dangerous, to allow them
to negotiate big ticket contracts [Q: Are you concerned about corruption?] Of
course the potential is always there. I’m not saying the officers there are
corrupt. The bill is okay for ordinary procurement – those that need to be
replaced because of ordinary wear and tear, or parts. But to allow them to
award big contracts, that won’t do, we should follow the normal course.
On taking over the DOTr post: Kwentong kutsero ‘yan. (That’s loose talk.)
Why should I exchange my elective position for an appointed one? There’s no
logic there. [Q: No offer from the President?] None. I’ve learned my lesson,
during my first term as congressman, I was invited to join the cabinet, me the
fool, I said yes, and you know, things happened. I don’t want to go back to
that. In the first place, that’s a demotion for me.
On decision to agree to the supermajority’s wish
that the death penalty bill be taken up next year: We don’t want to be accused of railroading. We
don’t want it to be said that we didn’t give time to those who oppose to state
their position.
On the Catholic Church’s strong opposition to the
death penalty: These
people that we will subject to the death penalty are people who committed
heinous crimes – the most reprehensible crimes you can imagine a human being
can commit. We even say that people who commit these crimes are demons. Here
comes the Church who wants to protect the evil-doers. Why do you want to
protect evil? Why do you want evil to triumph over good? I cannot fathom this.
It’s in the Bible – Satan comes in many forms.
On arguments reimposing the death penalty is anti-poor
and that it’s not a real deterrent to crime: These are old arguments. It’s not anti-poor. They should look at the
record, go back to history. How many were executed? So few. What’s the reason?
Past presidents didn’t have enough political will to implement the death
penalty. So do not use that as argument. Because the anti-death penalty
advocates were to blame for the fact that so very few were executed and thus it
never became a deterrent.
On being a signatory to an int'l covenant rejecting
the death penalty and not being allowed to withdraw: Who are they to tell us what to do? We are a
sovereign country. Membership is always voluntary. Look at the United States of
America, the most powerful country in the world – it has the death penalty. All
Asian countries have it, we are the only one foolish to not have it. Most of
the countries that have no death penalty are the countries in Europe. That’s
their culture, don’t impose it on us.
On lowering the age of criminal responsibility –
critics say House Bill No. 2 may eventually kill a 9 year old: Mga bugok yang mga yan e. [They’re idiots.]
The proposal is to revert to the “9 years old” of the revised penal code. Was a
9 year-old child ever executed? No, that’s because when 9 to 12 year-olds are
convicted, they will not be incarcerated with hardened criminals. The bill says
they will be taken to the DSWD for rehabilitation, but it will be impressed on
them that they have a responsibility to society.
On 21 crimes under “heinous crimes”: I also wanted just drug-related cases, but some
citizens said, why should it cover just drug-related crimes? How about
pyramiding scams – why not include those?
When the death penalty will likely be passed in the
House: First quarter of 2017. – Rappler.com
INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.rappler.com/nation/155343-rappler-talk-house-speaker-alvarez-duterte-legislation
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