On August 18, President Estrada announced that all...

On August 18, President Estrada announced that all executions would be suspended until a "Conscience Committee" had been set up to review the cases of prisoners scheduled for execution. Apparently, the Committee does not have to systematically re-examine cases from a judicial point of view but consider extenuating circumstances, which have yet to be defined, with a view to recommending that the President grant a stay of execution or commute the death sentence. The decision to form such a Committee was welcomed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Asma Jahangir who had said that the reintroduction of the death penalty in the Philippines had aroused profound anxiety with regard to human rights. The "Conscience Committee" - established by an Executive Order on August 27 and formed in September - is reportedly chaired by Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, and has four other members: a Catholic bishop, the chairwoman of the pro-death penalty citizens' group Crusade against Violence, and two psychology professors. On the same day, Romeo Gallo was scheduled for execution by lethal injection. He had been sentenced to death for the rape of his 13-year-old daughter at their home in 1994. On October 6, Estrada announced a 20-day reprieve for him.