Foreign Affairs Chief Teddy Boy Locsin renewed his call not to bring back the death penalty in the country as this may put the lives of convicted Filipinos abroad in peril.
The question came from Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who asked the DFA Chief on how is he reconciling the idea that the Philippines is tough on the drug problem while the DFA is helping Filipinos involved in illegal drugs.
“Frankly, I used to wonder about that. That’s why I continue to support the abolition of death penalty because I cannot see how, now that we abolished it, if we restore it, how can we appeal if we feel that there is a possibility of miscarriage of justice in a foreign country,” Locsin said.
He said that it will be difficult to bargain for the punishment of Filipinos abroad if we will have a death penalty here in the country.
“How can we appeal for mercy or a commutation of sentence? That’s a completely unresolved issue as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
Lacson said that this is a different case Filipinos abroad should be ‘Filipinos first’ before treating them as convicts.
“That obligation is weakened when we restore death penalty,” Locsin said.
