Church calls for alternatives to ‘death penalty’
GMANews.TV – 25 October 2010
As the Philippines hosts an international meet on prison reforms, the Catholic Church has reaffirmed its stand against the death penalty and issued the call for alternatives to the country’s “punitive criminal justice system.”
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the country has to adopt more “restorative” rather than “punitive” measures against prisoners.
Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC), said the government has to pass legislation that would enhance the dignity of the prisoners.
The ECPPC heads the meet of the International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care from October 25 to 29 in Cavite to discuss ways to “encourage a greater awareness of the prison pastoral care among the faithful and society.”
According to a news report on the CBCP website, the ECPPC also spearheaded the 23rd Prison Awareness Week, with the theme “Towards Justice That Moves Beyond Punishment,” from October 19 to 24.
“We stand by our belief that the deprivation of the right to life will not gain justice for all,” Diamante said in a statement.
“History has proven that rendering the death penalty as a means to obtain justice simply does the opposite — the death penalty will only lead to the wider spread and longer persistence of injustice in the country,” he noted.
Diamante said the Philippine justice system was “replete with human errors,” and that “the death penalty has not deterred criminality.”
“Instead, it has even spurred more injustice by killing the innocent — those wrongly accused and without proper defense,” he added.
“These people have been deprived of the opportunity to reform and restore the injury they caused others,” Diamante said in a statement posted on the CBCP website.
Restorative justice
Diamante reiterated the church’s call for the country’s justice system to transcend from being merely “punitive” to being “restorative”.
“While our justice system seeks to punish the wrongdoer, it should move beyond punishment and seek healing of all people involved — the victim, the offender and the society we all live in,” he said.
He also called on prison reform advocates to join the Catholic church in recommending alternative ways of keeping peace in the community and creating an enabling environment to prevent criminality.
The Philippines banned the death penalty for all crimes in the 1987 Constitution. However an outbreak of kidnappings, killings and coup de etat in the 1980s prompted lawmakers to restore capital punishment.
In late June 2006, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed a law repealing the death penalty, sparing the lives of an estimated 1,200 people on death row.
However, the recent spate of violence, mostly in Mindanao, has prompted calls — many from prominent figures — for the death penalty to be reimposed.
Bukidnon Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri recently reiterated his call for the reimposition of the death penalty following the recent acts of violence recorded in Mindanao.
Zubiri said the perpetrators of the bombing as well as the rape of a nurse in Maguindanao should be meted the death penalty.
Studies by the Amnesty International in 1999 showed that almost 90 percent of Filipinos believe that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, although that figure is believed to have been halved by anti-death penalty information campaigns. – DM, VVP, GMANews.TV
Up to this time, I guess our good bishops have not realized that compassionate treatment for criminals does not work. Just look at the track record of our penal system, based on a reformatory Revised Penal Code. Criminals are criminals and they should be treated the way they are.
My Php 0.87 worth (US$ 0.02 x Php 43.30 ROE): Why not adopt a punitive system like that 70’s movie: “Papillon” where prisoners are slave laborers and punished severely for infractions? We can move the New Bilibid Prison to the lahar wastelands, concentration camp style, turn it into farms where they must grow their own food. Those who do not work shall not eat.
For minor infractions, we can adopt the caning system used by Singapore. Or “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” system used by some Middle Eastern Countries.
Without sounding too irreverent, why not turn over the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to the bishops and let them run it the way they want to?. BUT! They should be responsible and answerable for cases of recidivism.
my dad told me once before when he is still in saudi long ago, that any crime committed will be dealt with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. this means that if you killed someone, likely you’ll also be killed through beheading and because of that people there are scared to commit crime, even adultery wherein the punishment is still beheading. My dad also told me that you can have your fancy jewelry or a bag full of money anywhere you go in saudi arabia because no one would ever dare to steal from you because they know in there very mind that the punishment is unforgivable. the only things that lacks in their justice system is the improper due process where only the king or the prince can give you a pardon.
Your Dad must have stay here in Saudi Arabia a long time ago…Im here today since 1994…And yes Ive seen those times that yo can walk freely w/o any problem of getting rob.
But, now is a different story…Rampant snacthing with 2riding tandem motorcycle snatchers, Basag window, holdup….today KSA is not the same as it used to be. And take note ohter nationalities even locals and doing it.
The cbcp doesn’t even know what they are talking about, both Pope Benedict 16 and Pope John Paul 2 have said, that the death penalty is NOT inherently immoral, it depends on whether it is needed to protect the common good, if it is needed, then its ok to have it, if its not needed, then its wrong to have it. Very simple, when the Pope opposes the death penalty, he usally does so in first world countries like the United States, even then the Pope does not oppose the death penalty for offfenses like treason during times of war.