House death penalty bill:

How they voted

(UPDATED) The House justice committee votes in favor of reimposing the death
penalty for heinous crimes in the Philippines. Who voted for and against the
measure?

Mara Cepeda
@maracepeda
Published 7:30 PM, December 07, 2016
Updated 3:31 PM, February 01, 2017

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. How did the House justice panel vote on the death penalty bill?

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) The House justice panel approved the

measure seeking to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes in the
Philippines on Wednesday, December 7.
House Bill (HB) Number 1 got the nod of the committee members with a vote of
12-6-1.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Farias said the measure may be brought back to the
plenary session for second reading on December 13. (READ: A lethal mix: Death
penalty and a 'flawed, corrupt' justice system)

If the bill is passed into law, the following heinous crimes would be punishable by
death, either by hanging, firing squad, or lethal injection:

Treason
Qualified piracy
Qualified bribery
Parricide
Murder
Infanticide
Rape
Kidnapping and serious illegal detention
Robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons
Destructive arson
Plunder
Importation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled
precursors and essential chemicals
Sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery,
distribution, and transportation of dangerous drugs
and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals
Maintenance of a drug den, dive, or resort
Manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled
precursors and essential chemicals
Possession of dangerous drugs
Cultivation or culture of plants classified as dangerous
drugs or are sources thereof
Unlawful prescription of dangerous drugs
Criminal liability of a public officer or employee for
misappropriation, misapplication, or failure to account for
the confiscated, seized and/or surrendered dangerous
drugs, plant sources of dangerous drugs, controlled
precursors and essential chemicals,
instruments/paraphernalia and/or laboratory equipment
including the proceeds or properties obtained from the
unlawful act committed
 Criminal liability for planting evidence concerning illegal
drugs
Carnapping

Here is how the committee members voted:

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a bill co-author, is hoping that HB 1 would be

passed on 3rd and final reading before Congress goes on Christmas break next
week.

HB 1 is one of the priority bills of President Rodrigo Duterte, who counts more
than 250 congressmen as his allies.

On Wednesday afternoon, the supermajority had a closed-door caucus to

discuss which measures to prioritize before session ends for the year.

Farias said he posed questions to both lawmakers who are in favor and not in
favor of the return of the death penalty.

"I asked them who are in favor, those who are in favor, of notion of the
reimposition of the death penalty, [but] on the finer points [like] anong crimes ba
covered niyan (which crimes are covered by that)? But [we only tackled] the
reimposition of the death penalty mas marami 'yun (there are more). Those
against and those who are undecided are lesser, but medyo pareho sila (they're
kind of similar)," he said.

The Philippines was the first Asian country to abolish the death penalty under the
1987 Constitution. President Fidel Ramos, however, revived the death penalty to
address the rising crime rate under his administration.

Capital punishment was eventually abolished in 2006, under former president

and now Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
While she supports Duterte, Arroyo said she is still against the reimposition of the
death penalty. Rappler.com

Editor's Note: This story mistakenly listed Leyte 2nd District Representative
Henry Ong as among the lawmakers who voted in favor of the death penalty bill.
His name has since been replaced with the name of Northern Samar 2nd District
Representative Edwin Ong, who gave his nod to the measure.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/160107-house-delays-death-penalty-debate