THE PHILIPPINES. PRESIDENT ARROYO ASKS CONGRESS TO SPEED UP DEATH PENALTY BAN

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo asked leaders of Congress to speed up passage of a bill abolishing capital punishment after imposing a freeze on judicial executions, her chief aide, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, said.
The president, a staunch Roman Catholic, had sent a letter to both Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia certifying the bill as "urgent," Ermita said in radio interview.
"I hereby certify to the necessity of the immediate enactment," of the proposed law, Ermita quoted the letter as saying.