(Eagle News) – The House of Representatives passed on second reading early Wednesday evening (March 1) the controversial death penalty bill, even as opposition congressmen tried to block its passage.
House Bill 4727 was passed in just less than a minute, through a voice vote, after the House agreed that only drug offenses would be covered by capital punishment. The death penalty will also not be mandatory since there can be a choice between life imprisonment and capital punishment available to the judge.
Plunder and other crimes such as treason and rape — which were previously punishable by death — were also dropped from the bill.
There will also be an automatic review by the Supreme Court for death decisions that had become final.
With these revisions, the “ayes” drowned out the “nays” as the pro-death penalty congressmen won Wednesday evening over the antideath penalty solons who still tried to move for nominal voting to block the bill’s approval.
Next Wednesday, the bill would be scheduled for third and final reading, where under the rules, there would be nominal voting.
This means lawmakers would be called one by one to explain their vote.
This was what the opposition lawmakers wanted to happen during the vote on the second reading.
But they failed to to stop Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu and Deputy Majority Floor Leader Juan Pablo Bondoc from closing the period of amendments and proceeding to the second reading vote.
“House Bill 4727 is hereby approved on second reading,” said Abu before banging the gavel at the plenary session.
Justice committee chair Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali, who is also the bill’s sponsor, said that the passage of the bill was not railroaded, contrary to what opposition lawmakers led by Rep. Edcel Lagman had been saying.
He said that antideath penalty solons were allowed to propose amendments.
Opposition lawmakers, however, expressed their dismay.
“Dapat dumaan din sa nominal voting because the second reading is very important eh. Because many could have had objections on certain sections and they can raise those objections before the final vote sa third reading,” said Akbayan partylist Rep. Tom Villarin.
But Umali countered this.
“This is not the time. There will be 3rd reading, and nominal voting will be had on the third reading, which will be on Wednesday next week. So you will not be deprived of all of the things that you want to know now because now is not the time,” Umali said.
He added that opposing lawmakers were just engaging in delaying tactics as they were repeating previous arguments during the debates.
He said this was why they opted to close the period of amendments and put the bill to a vote.
Lagman who leads the independent opposition bloc in the House wanted a page-by-page amendment. He also wanted a line-by-line scrutiny of the bill. He was consistently blocked by Umali.
“In the history of Congress, I have not experienced this kind of muzzling,” Lagman told reporters.
But Umali said the anti-death penalty solons would not be able to muster the needed number to push for nominal voting, even if they were able to make this motion.
Only 28 of the required 46 votes were mustered for nominal voting, thus a viva voce or voice vote was done instead.
Here the whole process just took about 30 seconds as the “ayes” outnumbered the “nays.”
Antideath penalty congressmen however said that they would exhaust all parliamentary means to prevent a third and final reading of the bill.
The proposed law imposes the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10 million in addition to absolute perpetual disqualification from any public office, on any public officer or employee who misappropriates, misapplies, or fails to account for seized dangerous drugs.
“Any elective local or national official found to have benefited from the proceeds of the trafficking of dangerous drugs as prescribed in this Act, or have received any financial or material contributions or donations from natural or juridical persons found guilty of trafficking dangerous drugs as prescribed in this Act, shall be removed from office and perpetually disqualified from holding any elective or appointive positions in the government, its divisions, subdivisions, and intermediaries, including government-owned or controlled corporations,” stated the bill.
“Any person who is found guilty of ‘planting’ any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical, regardless of quantity and purity, shall suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death,” it added.
The death penalty will not be imposed on a guilty person below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of a drug-related crime, as well as those over 70 years old.
There will also be a mandatory review by the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.
