Sotto: Senate won’t pass death penalty bill before June closing

MANILA, Philippines – The death penalty bill would not be passed in the Senate by June or before the 17th Congress ends its first regular session.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said this a day after the House of Representatives approved the administration measure on final reading.

Sotto maintained that the chamber would have long debates on the measure.  Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III earlier said it would be a “close fight.”

“Oo, mahihirapan [by June]. Mahirap, mahabang debate ‘yan (Yes it will be difficult to pass it by June. It’s difficult, it entails long debates)” Sotto told reporters on Wednesday, March 8. 

But with the passage of the measure in the House, Sotto said the Senate would now be forced to further tackle the measure.

There had been two hearings on the measure but the hearings had been stalled by concerns about the Philippines’ accession to international treaties.  

In 2007, the Philippines ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which aims to abolish the death penalty. (READ: UN on death penalty: PH will violate int’l law)

“May epekto [ang pagpasa sa House]. Dapat pag-usapan namin. Ipinasa nila, kailangang i-take up namin. Kung ‘di nila tinake up, bakit namin pag-uusapan?” Sotto said.

(The House passage has an effect on us. We should talk about it because they approved it so we need to take it up. If they didn’t take it up, then why the need to talk about it?)

But Sotto pointed out that House leaders were already informed that the death penalty bill is not the Senate’s priority.

As early as now, pro-death penalty Senator Panfilo Lacson expects that the measure would not make it in the Senate.

“Ang bilang ko, mukhang malabo sa Senado. ‘Yun ang bilang ko – mental calculation ko ‘yan based on my informal discussion with some of my colleagues. Mukhang sa bilang hindi abot ng 12,” Lacson said.

A majority vote (13 votes) is needed for a bill to pass in the Senate. The 1st regular session of the 17th Congress ends on June 3. It is set to resume on July 24, in time for President Rodrigo Duterte’s 2nd State of the Nation Address (SONA).

‘LP to oppose’

Still months away from the Senate debates, Liberal Party senators have vowed to oppose the measure.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said all LP senators, including Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto who has not been joining the LP bloc in its prior moves and decisions, would all vote against the bill.

Also joining the LP are its allies Senators Risa Hontiveros and Antonio Trillanes IV. 

“Nobody can predict what will happen in the Senate. The Liberal Party and its allies will take a position against the death penalty. Here, all the LP members including Senator Ralph Recto will take a party position on the death penalty, including our ally, Risa Hontiveros, Senator Trillanes. It’s an uphill battle here,” Drilon told reporters.

While they do not have the needed 13 votes yet, Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV expressed hope that majority senators would follow their conscience.

“The minority votes clearly aren’t enough but I’m hoping there will be enough senators to vote this measure down. This should be a conscience vote and not done because of political affiliations,” Aquino said in a statement. – Rappler.com