PHILIPPINES: DEATH PENALTY NO SOLUTION TO HEINOUS CRIMES

the death penalty is not the solution to heinous crimes. This was the position aired by Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life (ECFL) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Aniceto issued the statement in reaction to Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri’s proposal to restore the death penalty law in the country. "That is not the solution. A lot (of prisoners) are under maximum security with death penalty, yet the society is not improving," Aniceto said over Catholic-run Radio Veritas 846. Aniceto believes strengthening society’s moral fiber is more effective in deterring crimes than restoring the death penalty. He also stressed that only God has the right to take away a person’s life.