DEATH PENALTY NOT THE ANSWER TO BRAZEN ACTS
OF CRIMINALITY--KIKO PANGILINAN

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan todays says that the death penalty is not the answer to the seemingly rampant criminality in the country.

"The brazen acts of criminality highlighted by the twin carnappings with the victims even burnt by their captors give a foreboding sense of lawlessness. I agree that this requires immediate action. The government should put its foot down, so to speak. Perhaps a crime czar should be appointed--someone who is resolute and results-driven. This person must be on top of coordinating the efforts of the PNP and the DOJ."

While Pangilinan sympathizes with the victims' families and condone these heinous crimes, he stresses that strict enforcement of the law is what's needed, not the death penalty.

"We do not support this. It is the certainty, not the severity, of punishment that brings fear in the hearts of would-be criminals. No matter how severe the penalty imposed, if convictions are few and far between, or cases drag on for years on end without punishment, then criminality will remain rampant. It is the swiftness of punishment regardless of the penalty involved that will ensure respect for our laws and instill fear in the hearts of would-be criminals in our criminal justice system."