Manila, Dec 05: Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said today she would no longer stop executions of people convicted of serious crimes, amid a public outcry over a recent spate of ransom kidnappings. Arroyo, who is opposed to the death penalty, imposed a moratorium on executions shortly after taking office in January 2001, winning applause from the influential roman catholic church and human rights organisations.


Later that year, she bowed to public pressure and said convicted kidnappers could be put to death; however, no executions have taken place since. In her statement today, Arroyo broadened her lifting of the moratorium to include other crimes for which the death penalty can be imposed, such as rape and murder, and said the move would start next year.
It was not immediately clear how her statement would affect the frequency of executions, nor how it would affect the executions of kidnappers.
A surge in ransom kidnappings mostly targeting wealthy Chinese-Filipino families has led members of that community to lobby for a stricter crackdown on kidnappers. "I shall no longer stand in the way of the executions scheduled by the courts for January 2004," Arroyo said today.
Bureau Report