Lacson withdraws death penalty bill

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 9) — Presidential aspirant and Senator Panfilo Lacson has officially withdrawn his authorship of a measure seeking to reinstitute death penalty in the country.

In his letter dated Nov. 8 to Senate Secretary Atty. Myra Villarica, Lacson requested that Senate Bill 27, or "An Act Reinstituting the Death Penalty in the Philippines," no longer be considered for deliberations by the committees on justice and human rights, and constitutional amendments and revision of codes.

Lacson filed SB 27 on July 1, 2019. Last week, he took back his support for the reimposition of death penalty for heinous crimes, noting the innocent may be executed just "because of wrong judgment."

Instead, the presidential hopeful pushed for life imprisonment and penal reforms as the "better" alternatives.

Lacson also supported the suggestion of Senate President Vicente Sotto III, his vice presidential running mate, to confine "drug lords" in a "super max penitentiary, with no means of communication with the outside world."

The Commission on Human Rights earlier hailed Lacson and Sotto for "abandoning" their long-standing push for the reinstitution of death penalty, which it deemed as a "win for the sanctity of life." It expressed hope this will encourage other lawmakers to reconsider their position on the measure.