PH faces UN sanction over death penalty

The United Nations (UN) may sanction the Philippines if it re-imposes the death penalty, Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas said. The incumbent Justice secretary issued the warning in the wake of incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s pronouncements that he will push for the revival of the death penalty as part of his campaign promise to end illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption within six month of his term. Caparas advised Duterte to conduct a thorough study of the matter. “We do have international obligations, we do have commitments. And these obligations and commitments have to be reviewed as well because that will have an impact on us,” he told reporters in a recent press conference. Just recently, human rights lawyer and  Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) chairman Jose Manuel Diokno reminded the incoming administration that the Philippines is bound by the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political [...]