The Philippine Supreme Court rejected a petition by...

The Philippine Supreme Court rejected a petition by 30 convicts to stop their executions while Congress was debating a proposal to abolish capital punishment.
But the court threw the fate of the convicts - including 20 rapists - into the lap of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, saying she still had the power to pardon them.
A lawyers' group filed the petition for the convicts in August on the grounds that the legislature was debating a bill to scrap the death penalty in the largely Roman Catholic country.
The court, by a 14-0 vote, rejected the argument as speculative.
"While newspaper reports indicate the supposed acquiescence of a number of senators and congressmen to the abolition of the death penalty, such is by no means an assurance that these same legislators will eventually vote for the modification or repeal of the law," the court said.
"In the meantime, perhaps the remedy lies not in the Supreme Court but in the Office of the President, to which any plea for reprieve (or even pardon) ought to be properly addressed."
Arroyo, a staunch Catholic, in August ordered a 90-day reprieve for three rapists facing imminent execution and drew immediate fire from anti-crime watchdogs, who said executions would curb growing lawlessness in the country.
The Philippines has executed seven convicts since it restored the death penalty in 1994. More than 1,000 people are now on death row, including 29 women.
A group of legislators opposed to capital punishment say it does not deter crime and that many of those sentenced to death are poor, illiterate people who cannot afford a good lawyer.
Under Philippine law, all death sentences imposed by trial courts must be reviewed by the Supreme Court.