elected officials elsewhere take a compassionate and rational step forward...

even while our state pursued plans for a double execution later in the month, the philippines congress abolished the death penalty on june 6th, repealing the 1993 legislation that reintroduced lethal injection..more than 1,000 prisoners on death row will now be spared execution with their sentences commuted to life imprisonment without parole...

the lil' jesuit dude, myself, and kate (our summer intern) give president arroyo and the philippine congress a huge standing O...

president gloria macapagal-arroyo said in a statement posted on her website: "we celebrate the victory of life as i thank congress for its immediate action in abolishing the death penalty law... but make no mistake about it, the abolition of the death penalty will be complemented by a stricter and sterner enforcement of the law in all fronts ... this is not a victory for criminals as some would claim, but rather, clear proof that filipinos respect and value the sanctity of human life and uphold the virtue and religious doctrines that are expected of us as a dominant christian nation," .... she also said the government would improve the country's jail facilities to create an environment that is more conducive to prisoners' rehabilitation and reformation...

mrs arroyo wrote to senate president franklin drilon calling for the urgent passage of the abolition bills before the adjournment of congress this week...in a letter sent to senate sresident franklin m. drilon, the president pointed to the urgent need for "abolishing death penalty as its imposition was shown to have not served its principal purpose of effectively deterring the commission of heinous crimes"...

she also said abolition would "remedy the findings that death penalty is anti-poor as the underprivileged who cannot afford the services of competent counsels are oftentimes the ones convicted of death penalty"...

rock and roll president arroyo!!!