LIBERAL PARTY STATEMENT ON DEATH PENALTY AHEAD OF H.O.R. VOTE ON 3RD READING

The Liberal Party (LP) stands pat on its opposition to the death penalty bill despite threats of marginalization wielded by the House leadership.

Pressure, intimidation, or enticement will not sway the LP members from casting a vote based on their conscience and conviction.

The vote of the House of Representatives on third and final reading today, March 7, on House Bill 4727 or the bill seeking death penalty for drug-related crimes, will be a mere formality.

However, it is still worth watching since the nominal voting or the roll call vote will now reveal the names and faces of the lawmakers who will vote for and against the bill.

LP lawmakers have tried to work within the majority bloc to come up with bills that are reasoned and thoroughly deliberated, and that work for the interest of the Filipino people.

The LP at the HOR has been a cooperative bloc, but in the interest of democracy, we should also play the role of reasonable fiscalizers when the situation and our principles demand it.

The Liberal Party reiterates that it is opposed to the death penalty because it is ineffective, it further victimizes the poor, it violates international law, and our criminal justice system is flawed. The solution to crime is ensuring certainty of punishment by a systematic, inter-branch push to reform our justice system.