Bishops scored for calls vs death penalty

Catholic bishops were accused yesterday of being "un-Catholic" after they demanded that President Arroyo suspend the execution of death convicts.

Under the Heinous Crimes Law of 1994, only a presidential pardon can save a convict from death.

Carina Agarao, president of the Crusade Against Violence (CAV), told reporters it was so "un-Catholic" for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to coerce the Chief Executive into violating the law.

"We regret to say it, but it’s so un-Catholic," she said. "We should let the law take its course. That would be the wisest move. We never seriously implemented the law. "

Agarao, whose lawyer-husband Clarence was slain in November 1995, said CAV members have become "demoralized" after they heard the CBCP’s stand on the death penalty.

"We feel these rumblings, discontentment and their loss of trust in our independent institutions," she said.

Agarao said she views as "blackmail" the CBCP’s and the Catholic Church’s implied withdrawal of support from Mrs. Arroyo.

"There is no need to coerce anybody," she said. "We now have the law and we have to implement it. The fact remains that it was the biggest deliberated bill in Congress."

However, the bishops said "quick fixes" like the execution of death convicts could only complicate matters and give the impression that extreme measures are being taken to eradicate crime.

"But until such time as the root of criminality is stopped, criminality will rise forever," they said.

Leaders of criminal gangs getting off the hook are dramas that are always seen in many courtrooms nationwide, the bishops added.

On the other hand, Mrs. Arroyo said she will not pardon or commute the sentences of the death convicts who must suffer the consequences of their evil deeds.

Under pressure from the Catholic Church, then President Joseph Estrada suspended the killing of death convicts in 2000 following the execution by lethal injection of four convicted rapists and three cop-killers the year previous.

Seventeen death convicts are awaiting execution at the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City this year.

They include 14 rapists, two kidnappers, and one convicted of robbery-homicide.

Alfredo Nardo, who was sentenced to death by a Legazpi City court, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Oct. 16.

The CAV, an anti-crime watchdog pushing for the execution of death convicts, is expanding nationwide, with the opening of offices in the Visayas and Mindanao.– Delon Porcalla