For P18,000 a month, you could become a phlebotomist-the...

For P18,000 a month, you could become a phlebotomist-the executioner who delivers the lethal injection to a condemned convict."We only have four phlebotomists and we need two more," said Ricardo Malala, director of BuCor.Applicants must have a background in medicine, though doctors, nurses or medical technologists are preferred. There is no age requirement, and their identities will remain secret.It's not like there's a lot of competition for the job.Although BuCor has posted notices about the job vacancy, it has not received any response until now.Most doctors and other medical practitioners refuse to take on the job because of the moral baggage it would entail."They said their job is to save lives, not kill," Macala said.The number of phlebotomists dwindled in the three years since Leo Echegaray, the first convict to die by lethal injection, was executed on Feb. 5, 1999.After him six more executions followed and the next is scheduled for Oct. 16 this year.Of the 1,015 death convicts, 84 are already affirmed by the Supreme Court. There are 988 men and 27 women on death row.