Filipino Youth group seeks support against death penalty

A youth group from Bacolod city has raised its opposition to the reimposition of death penalty in the Philippines, urging lawmakers to prevent the passage of House Bill 4727, which seeks to impose capital punishment for more than 20 heinous crimes, including rape with homicide, kidnap for ransom and arson with death.

The group asserts that death penalty does not solve peace and order problems, citing statistics that show no reduction in the number of crimes after a record number of executions was carried during the Estrada administration. They also assert that the practice is anti-poor, saying that 80 percent of death row convicts did not reach college and 60 percent were minimum wage earners.

The group is also calling on the youth in Negros Island Region (NIR) to support their fight against death penalty.