ASIA/PHILIPPINES - A missionary: "A death sentence every day"

Thursday, 5 January 2017 death penalty violence drugs politics extrajudicial killings

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Manila (Agenzia Fides) - "There are over 6,000 deaths, suspected marijuana drug dealers or other drugs, and 1,000 people killed, only on the basis of a suspect, in the last month. For some it may be a great success: it is a death sentence de facto, without the need for a law on the death penalty or lengthy court procedures. The elimination of criminal suspects with a summary execution is much more effective, according to supporters of this policy. In all this there is something sinister and cruel": is what Fr. Shay Cullen says to Agenzia Fides, an Irish missionary in the Philippines, founder and director of "Preda" Foundation, which deals with many social works in favor of abandoned children, exploited women, drug addicts.
The missionary noted with concern that "this phenomenon, already widely denounced by NGOs in recent months, does not seem to stop in any way, or rather has the overwhelming approval of 76% of Filipinos".
Fr. Cullen notes that "Parliament could approve the reinstatement of the death penalty, despite all the debates against such practice does not deter crime, kills innocent and suspicious people, or mostly the poor who cannot afford lawyers; It is cruel and deprives the accused of possible redemption; It is against the sacred value of life and the dignity of the human person".
But this would be "a legal way to suppress a convict", he adds. Instead "summary executions are faster". "To kill a thousand people a month is a fact that cannot be underestimated. It is the most cruel death penalty ever seen, which is practiced every day. It is a monstrous crime to counter many small drug dealers. The suspects are not given the opportunity to defend themselves against their accusers, which is their constitutional right. These rights have been suspended and the challenge for all today is to reinstate it. This violence must stop, it is costing many lives, and is against the rule of law", said Fr. Cullen. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 05/01/2017)