staunch pro-life advocate and Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza opposed moves to revive the death penalty to resolve the persistent drug problem in the country

staunch pro-life advocate and Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza opposed moves to revive the death penalty to resolve the persistent drug problem in the country. Instead, Atienza called for reforms in the country’s justice system as a “genuine solution to crime” insisting that reinstating the capital punishment would only lead to the commission of “more and much bigger crimes and injustices.” “We have a defective justice system and reforms must be enacted, especially on the implementation of our already existing laws,” Atienza said. “Authority, power, and wealth still influence and abuse many juridical decisions.” Atienza said the law must not have a double standard, as this would also result to an even wider gap between the rich and powerful as well as the poor and underprivileged. “So, the answer lies not on stiffer sanctions but on the effective and efficient enforcement of the law,” Atienza pointed out. “Putting death penalty back into law would only surely create a more violent society. It is a mere ‘alibi for failure’… the certainty of arrest and punishment is yet the best deterrent to crime,” he added.