Ate Glo intent on 3 executions despite CBCP’s clemency appeal

President Arroyo will not waver in her decision to allow the execution by lethal injection of three death convicts despite vigorous objections by pro-life groups notably the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable said yesterday.

At the Senate, Sen. Rene Cayetano lauded the decision of the President to proceed with the scheduled execution of the three death convicts.

"If we go by her statement, the President is determined to pursue a very strong Republic that she would undertake all measures to achieve this end," Afable said.

He held it very likely that Mrs. Arroyo would also take a tough stance not only against kidnappers but also other convicts meted the death sentence for committing heinous crimes.

"The President is going to implement the death penalty barring any constitutional or legislative impediment," Afable said. "The scheduled execution will therefore, push through."

Oppositors to the death penalty accused Mrs. Arroyo of abandoning the principles they fought for together at the EDSA II which toppled the Estrada administration under which seven death convicts were executed through lethal injection.

Then President Joseph Estrada later issued a moratorium on the judicial killings under a growing pressure from the pro-life groups and in deference to the Jubilee celebration of the Catholic Church in 2000.

"The capital punishment is a known deterrent to the commission of heinous crimes. Sparing a convicted felon from the death chamber will be sending the wrong signals to criminals," Cayetano explained.

He noted that in the United States, 36 out of 51 states have restored the death penalty law after the US Supreme Court had sustained its validity.

"In Singapore, death by public hanging for certain heinous crimes has brought down the level of crimes committed," Cayetano pointed out.

The President rejected the other day the appeal of the CBCP for another moratorium on executions. – Marichu Villanueva, Efren Danao