Church-based groups of the Diocese of Dumaguete are now going around getting signatures for a petition calling for the rejection of the proposed bill on the restoration of the death penalty in the Philippines.
William Ablong, president of the diocesan Council of the Laity, and also the head of the Diocesan Organization of Renewal Movements & Communities, disclosed Thursday they are targeting at least 20,000 signatures by end of the week
Ablong said the signature campaign is coursed through the different parishes in Negros Oriental and Siquijor through the Parish Pastoral Councils and other church-based groups.
The move comes as the Lower House is scheduled on Feb. 28 to act on the proposed bills on the reimposition of the death penalty, Ablong explained.
It was originally scheduled March 8 but Congress moved it to an earlier date, but Ablong said they are still hopeful that in the coming days, especially this coming Sunday, they can catch up and generate as many signatures.
The signature campaign was launched three days ago and on Sunday, there will be desks set up by the PPCs at the different churches so that those attending mass can sign the petition, Ablong said.
The Diocesan Council of the Laity also issued a statement along with the signature campaign, saying that “(we) are united in our opposition to any proposal or move to return the death penalty in the Philippines”.
“Studies have consistently failed to demonstrate that death penalty deters people from committing crime. The death penalty is cruel and inhuman. It breaches two essential human rights: the right to life and the right to live”, the statement further read.
Ablong also highlighted that the death penalty violates the Fifth Commandment of God: Thou Shall Not Kill.
“As followers of Christ, and as Christians, we should obey this Commandment,” he stressed.
He noted that they are against capital punishment because aside from reasons cited in their statement, there are at least 140 countries that have abolished the death penalty, having proved that it is not a deterrent to the commission of a crime.
Amnesty International also states that in countries that have instituted the death penalty, homicide and murder cases have gone up, Ablong noted.
Also, the Philippines is a signatory of the Treaty of International Convention on Civil & Political Rights of the UN Human Rights Office, Ablong pointed out.
“Man has the inherent right to life and to live as a dignified person,” he added.
Instead of the death penalty, Ablong recommends the strengthening of the justice system, and helping the poor who are incarcerated, and cannot afford to put up bail nor engage the services of a good lawyer.
“There is also a need to improve our educational system, and provide livelihood to the poor” as poverty is a root cause of the commission of crimes, Ablong added.
The signatures will be sent Monday to the congressmen of Negros Oriental and Siquijor prior to the Feb. 28 deliberations.
In Negros Oriental, Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong (1st District) is the only one among the three congressional Representatives who have signified her opposition to the death penalty, and had in fact, signed a resolution to that effect, said Ablong.
Ablong also disclosed that after Feb. 28, depending on the outcome in Congress, they will also take further steps such as prayer rallies to continue their campaign against the restoration of the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Fr. Eric Lozada, clergy president of the Diocese of Dumaguete, and academic dean of St. Joseph Seminary College in Agan-an, Sibulan, stressed he is “absolutely not in favor of the death penalty”.
“Nobody has the absolute right to take life; there are no conditions to that,” he said.
“The consequence of ‘killing as a mentality’ worries me more than the death penalty itself,” Lozada admitted.
He explained that the mentality that ‘killing is the natural way to solve a problem’ is troubling, and that it also boils down to condoning violence.
Fr. Lozada pointed out what he described as the seemingly-indifferent attitude of the public to the spate of thousands of killings happening in the country today.
As to the death penalty being a deterrent to crime, Lozada said it has been proven and tested otherwise.
“The death penalty has created more violence, distortions, and evil in the hearts of the people,” he stressed.
Rev. Everett Mendoza of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, agrees that the death penalty will not prevent the commission of crimes, and that it will not solve the problem on illegal drugs.
“The war on drugs, resulting in the killing of lowly people, really is offensive to the Christian conscience,” he said.
According to him, government should have first addressed the country’s economic woes before tackling other problems like the illegal drugs trade.
The reimposition of the death penalty is “retributive justice”, Mendoza stressed.
Reverend Mendoza said the UCCP is conducting information forums and education campaigns on the proposal to restore the death penalty, and to “let the people decide with their conscience”. (PNA/JFP)
