On 07 March 2017, the proposal to re-impose the death penalty was approved by the House of Representatives. 217 voted in favor of death penalty and 54 voted against it.
Here’s the voting record of our representatives from Negros Oriental: Limkaichong- No, Sagarbarria-YES, Teves- YES.
The re-imposition of the death penalty is an issue that divides people on many aspects: policy, the law, religion, morality, among many other things. This is the reason why people, especially the voting population, must demand for their representatives to explain their votes.
As a voter in the 2nd district of Negros Oriental, I am hoping that Congressman Sagarbarria, in the near future, will really explain why he ended up voting for the re-imposition of the death penalty. In several news articles, Sagarbarria made very strong statements against the death penalty citing the laws of God and the teachings of his Catholic faith. He was even quoted to have said “he could not affix his signature on the bill, while he is standing on top of the tomb of his parents”.
The people deserve an explanation, regardless of which side of the debate they stand. Accountability matters, especially for something as serious as the death penalty. I think the media should publish the explanation speeches or letters of all the congresspersons in Negros Oriental.
I’ve been reviewing the list of those who voted YES, and I was shocked to see familiar names from other provinces as well — people who I never thought would vote in favor of the re-imposition of the death penalty.
While we may never know their reasons, unless they make public statements about it, I can advance some theories based on observations made while I was working at the Senate. A NO vote would mean 1) loss of committee chairmanship; 2) being asked (quietly) to resign as chair of an important committee; 3) financial suffering for the district when the administration withholds project funds; 4) death of a bill that is important to the person who voted no.
Many fans of Geraldine Roman were disappointed that she voted in favor of the bill, despite having expressed her opposition to it earlier this year. Her answer reveals the power of politics over principle. She said: “I didn’t want what happened to our district under my father to happen again. When he voted against sending the articles of impeachment (against Corona), our district received very little funding. We were cut off.”
The debate on the bill itself must continue. I personally will do whatever I can to campaign against the death penalty because statistics really make one thing clear: the death penalty does not work. I don’t even have to go to the moral/religious argument. On policy alone, we should not be passing measures that do not solve anything.
Again, whatever your stand is on the bill, it is important for you to also seek the explanation of your representative’s vote. That’s people power- and last I checked, it shouldn’t be defeated by mere politics.
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Author’s email: goldabenjamin@gmail.com
