Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suspended...

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo suspended the execution of all death row convicts while Congress is debating a proposed law abolishing the death penalty, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said.
Arroyo's decision, announced by Ople to European ambassadors, is expected to draw strong support from the country's Roman Catholic church and human rights groups, but provoke attacks from anti-crime watchdogs worried about growing lawlessness.
Ople told reporters he relayed the president's decision to ambassadors from European Union countries who called on him at the foreign ministry.
"I informed the EU ambassadors that the president has suspended all executions while Congress is still debating the merits of the death penalty law," Ople said after the meeting.
An EU diplomat said the group welcomed Arroyo's decision, saying EU countries favoured the abolition of the death penalty.
More than 1,000 prisoners are on the Philippines' death row, including 29 women.
Arroyo's decision came a week after the Philippine Supreme Court rejected a petition by 30 convicts to stop their executions while Congress was debating the proposal to abolish capital punishment. The court had said the power to pardon them was in Arroyo's hands.