Catanduanes Rep

Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago (NPC), citing police statistics, said a total of 5,032 murders were reported in the nine months to September this year, translating into a monthly average of 560 cases.
The figures represent a 15-percent increase compared with the monthly average of 487 murders reported last year, according to Santiago. A total of 5,843 murders were reported last year.
"Once again, this is solid evidence that capital punishment has not served to deter murders and other grave criminal offenses," said Santiago, who is opposing the death penalty for being cruel and inhuman punishment. Should the current rate of increase in murders continue, a total of 6,720 murders will be recorded by yearend, Santiago said. He also urged his colleagues in Congress to support the swift approval of a bill seeking to abolish capital punishment in favor of a harsher kind of life imprisonment sans parole and allowances for good behavior.
"Now that we have a de facto abolition of capital punishment, our next logical move should be to repeal the Death Penalty Law," Santiago said. "As far as we're concerned, capital punishment is dead. All that we have to do now is bury it," Santiago said.
He pointed out that an overwhelming majority of senators already favored scrapping the death penalty. He added that at least 97 members of the House have already signified their support for the bill repealing capital punishment.
The House committees on revision of laws and on civil, political and human rights earlier jointly endorsed the bill for floor approval.