French envoy: Death penalty not efficient crime deterrent

MANILA, Philippines – As the Duterte administration and its allies in Congress are gearing toward the reimposition of the death penalty in the country, the ambassador of France in Manila maintained yesterday this is not an efficient deterrent to crime.

French Ambassador Thierry Mathou said French embassy officials would meet with Philippine officials to discuss their views on why the country should not reinstate the death penalty.

“France is advocating abolition because for many reasons, just to highlight one, death penalty is not efficient, so we discuss with our partners, myself, to address this issue with the President,” Mathou told reporters on the sidelines of the launching of the PhilFrance: Feel French! campaign in Makati City.

“Obviously, we don’t share the same views...We are meeting with different members of Congress. We try to explain our views. But once again, our role is not to lecture, but to explain our views and think why this decision would not be the best,” he said.

Mathou said the decision to reinstate capital punishment is still up to the Philippine Congress.

The debate on the controversial death penalty bill has started in the House of Representatives.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Congress intends to vote on the bill after 30 session days of debate.

Mathou believes reviving the death penalty would not be as easy in the Senate as it appears to be in the House of Representatives.

“I have the feeling that the debate would be very dense (in the Senate),” he said.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin Drilon said the Liberal Party has taken the position against the death penalty.

Aside from Drilon, his party allies – Sens. Francis Pangilinan, Leila de Lima, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Ralph Recto – also oppose the death penalty.

Others against reviving the death penalty are Senate committee on justice chair Richard Gordon, and Sens. Risa Hontiveros, Francis Escudero and Antonio Trillanes IV.