Cruz lauds abolition of death penalty
DAGUPAN CITY – “The law that kills is dead. Life has triumphed.
This summed up Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz’s reaction to the abolition of the death penalty law by Congress.
Cruz, former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, however, pointed out that the victory may not be claimed by any organization or institution.
“It rightfully belongs to humanity, to civilization, to reason,” he said.
He said the government has the authority to impose punishment on convicted criminals and other enemies of society desirous of living in justice and having peace but it has no right to take the life of human persons by death penalty.
“To rule on human rights and human freedom does not include killing the human life wherefrom such rights and freedom emanate,” he said.
Furthermore, he maintained that human justice is not always just since the poor and the helpless do not only have less in life but also less in law.
He pointed out that those condemned to death by the courts of the land by and large come from practically those living in poverty.
“The poor and the helpless do not only have less in life but also less in law,” he intoned.
He also indicated that that are no empirical data to prove that death penalty guarantees less criminality.
He said that that the number of murders, massacres, rapes, robberies, kidnappings,drug trafficking, and a host of other crimes take place “in spite of the odious death penalty law.”
With the abolition of death penalty, Cruz said criminals will continue to be around and crimes will continue to happen but he maintained that this would not be on account of the repeal of the law but of evil human tendencies, due to weak police work and the slow wheel of justice if not triumph of injustice. – EVA
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