An anti-crime group criticized the government of "toying...

An anti-crime group criticized the government of "toying around" with the death penalty law by ordering an indefinite halt to executions. Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) chairman Dante A. Jimenez said the government must prepare for a backlash. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he said, seems to be catering to anti-death penalty sectors such as the Catholic Church. "What I am afraid of is when crime victims take the law into their own hands as a result," Mr. Jimenez told BusinessWorld. The fact that Congress is reviewing the law "is not an excuse" not to implement it, he said. "The law is the law and we have to follow it." Mr. Jimenez said his group plans to lobby in Congress in an effort to retain capital punishment.