The move of the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Dumaguete to stop the passage of a bill restoring the death penalty may have come a little too late. The more than 20,000 signatures against death penalty were gathered in a record time of two weeks.
But they may no longer be used by the House of Representatives, which already cast its vote on the matter. A total of 217 lawmakers from the House of Representatives voted in favor of the death penalty bill, while 54 voted against it; one abstained.
The members of the House of Representatives from the Diocese of Dumaguete were split 2-2 on the issue. Cong. Manuel Sagarbarria (2nd District) and Cong. Arnie Teves (3rd District) voted in favor of the death penalty. Cong. Josy Limkaichong (1st District) and Cong. Rav Rocamora (Siquijor) voted against the reimposition of the death penalty.
From where we sit, it is easy to criticize Congress for passing a Bill restoring the death penalty. People immediately took to their keyboards as soon as news spread about the passage of the Death Penalty Bill in the House of Representatives.
Of course, death is no joke. People love to quote the sixth (or the fifth, for Roman Catholics) Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill” as a reason against death penalty. Surely, there can be no greater argument against the law of God.
On the other hand, people could also quote the same Bible to show that God ordered his people not just to kill but to exterminate groups of people (including women and children), such as the Canaanites. So it might take forever to argue the death penalty using the Bible.
One’s spiritual and moral conviction is only one factor in making a decision. There could be several other equally-important factors in the pipeline.
If you were a Member of the House of Representatives, how would you have voted, knowing that as many as 85 percent of Filipinos (if the surveys are to be believed) are in favor of its reimposition?
With the passage of the House Bill, the ball game now shifts to the Senate. If the Senate approves the restoration of the Death Penalty, that would be the final chapter in this story, unless the President would veto it to push for the addition of more provisions.
If anything, this exercise provides us a good view of what really goes on in the minds of our legislators whom we elected to speak in our behalf.
