Malacañang is leaving up to the next Congress to review the proposal of presumptive president-elect Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte to restore death penalty via hanging.
“Lifting of death penalty requires that present law be amended. It is best that this be tackled by the next Congress,” Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a text message.
Despite the Aquino government’s opposition to death penalty, Coloma declined to engage in a debate with the incoming administration about the issue.
“We prefer to focus on transition instead in engaging in further debates or arguments,” the Palace official said.
Coloma added that the incoming administration deserves an opportunity to be heard and understood in terms of its policy initiatives.
Duterte, who earned a landslide victory in the presidential elections, has pledged to seek the restoration of execution of convicts by hanging as part of his intensified law and order campaign.
