ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
March 20, 2017
Philippine House OKs restoring death penalty for drug cases
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — The
Philippine House of Representatives has
approved a bill to restore the death penalty
by hanging, lethal injection, or firing
squad for drug offenses despite opposition
from the influential Roman Catholic
Church and human-rights groups.
The House said 216 members approved
the proposed legislation, 54 voted against
it, and one abstained, bringing nearer to
reality President Rodrigo Duterte’s cam-
paign promise to restore capital punish-
ment for hardcore criminals, especially
drug traffickers.
The death penalty could have been
applicable for several crimes, including
economic plunder in a country rife with
corruption scandals, under earlier house
versions, but lawmakers later agreed to
allow it only for drug offenses, including
production and trafficking.
House Bill 4727 must be merged with
the version being deliberated in the senate
and then signed by Duterte to become a
law. Both chambers of congress are
dominated by Duterte’s allies.
Proponents argue the death penalty
would help combat the drug menace,
which Duterte has elevated to a national
security threat. His anti-drug crackdown
POLARIZING ISSUE. Protesters lie on the
street while shouting slogans during a rally outside
the House of Representatives in Quezon City, north
of Manila, the Philippines. Various rights groups held
demonstrations to oppose the revival of the death
penalty by the Philippine Congress. (AP Photo/Aaron
Favila)
has left thousands of drug suspects dead
since he took office in June.
Opponents led by the dominant Catholic
church held an anti-death penalty rally
attended by more than 10,000 people in
Manila about a month ago. More than 200
activists protested against the death
penalty outside the house as lawmakers
voted on the bill.
“The death penalty is an abhorrent
punishment. It forecloses the reformation
of the convict. It victimizes the poor. It is
not the solution to criminality,” repre-
sentative Edcel Lagman, a key critic of the
bill, said. Representative Tom Villarin
cited corruption among law enforcers and
weaknesses in the country’s judicial
system to vote against the bill.
Amnesty International said the house
bill’s approval sets the Philippines “on a
dangerous path in flagrant violation of its
international legal obligations,” citing the
country’s 2007 ratification of a treaty that
categorically prohibits executions and
commits it to the abolition of the death
penalty.
The issue has long been divisive in the
Philippines, Asia’s bastion of Catholicism
that has also grappled with widespread
crime. Capital punishment was abolished
in 1987, but restored in 1993 for heinous
crimes such as murder, child rape, and
kidnapping. Seven people were executed
in that period.
Then-President
Gloria
Macapagal
Arroyo again abolished the death penalty
in 2006. Now the deputy house speaker,
she voted against its reimposition, despite
a threat from house speaker Pantaleon
Alvarez, a key Duterte ally, to strip
lawmakers of committee chairmanships
and other key posts if they vote against the
bill.
Dog deformed by Thai butcher
is now thriving in New Jersey
Continued from page 7
doing well besides some cosmetic issues.
“She can always breathe through her mouth, but
the fact she can breathe through her nose just
increases her quality of life. She’s able to eat and
drink, can play with toys, so that’s the important
thing,” he said.
Quigley eventually wants to get Teresa certified
as a therapy animal so she can comfort disfigured
patients at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
STELLAR SAVE. Goalkeeper Luis Robles of the New York Red Bulls saves a shot taken by the Portland Tim-
bers in a match played at Providence Park in this file photo. In 2015, Robles was voted Goalkeeper of the Year
for Major League Soccer after making 86 saves and allowing just 43 goals in 34 matches, including nine shut-
outs. He did even better than that in 2016, saving 100 while allowing just one more goal in 34 matches, logging
11 shutouts. (AR Photo/Jan Landis)
Seven Asian MLS difference-
makers look to shine in 2017
Continued from page 8
Trying to stop Endoh and Meram from
scoring are goalkeeper Luis Robles of the
New York Red Bulls and defender A.J.
DeLaGarza of the Houston Dynamo.
Robles, whose mother is from South Korea,
has been one of the league’s dominant
goalkeepers since being named New
York’s starter in 2013.
In 2015, Robles won MLS Goalkeeper of
the Year after making 86 saves and
allowing just 43 goals in 34 matches,
including nine shutouts. He did even
better than that in 2016, saving 100 while
allowing just one more goal in 34 matches,
logging 11 shutouts.
Yet Robles was edged out by Andre
Blake of the Philadelphia Union for the
2016 award. Blake’s stats were not as
strong — he allowed 50 goals with 99 saves
and six shutouts in 32 matches — but
Blake’s extraordinary, head-turning saves
gave him the overall edge in the voting.
After his first-place Red Bulls were ousted
from the 2016 playoffs, Robles hopes to
help his squad get to the MLS Cup Final
for the first time since 2008.
Before this season started, the Houston
Dynamo traded for A.J. DeLaGarza, who
had shown his versatility and durability
with the L.A. Galaxy. The Guamanian
fullback made 20 or more starts for six
straight seasons with the Galaxy,
anchoring a back line that helped L.A. win
three MLS Cups during his time there.
Between 2011 and 2014, DeLaGarza won
the Galaxy’s Defender of the Year two
times. The Dynamo is banking that the
stalwart fullback can help them rise from
their last-place finish in 2016.
The Asian MLS talent pool also shrank a
bit this year, as Masato Kudo of the
Vancouver Whitecaps chose to return to
Japan after just one season in MLS, and
veteran Paulo Nagamura of Sporting KC
retired to join the team’s coaching ranks.
But this season’s addition of Minnesota
United and Atlanta United brings the
league to 22 teams, ensuring MLS rosters
will continue to swell with players of Asian
heritage.
SAVE THE DATE!
The Asian Reporter
Foundation’s 19th
Annual Scholarship &
Awards banquet
will be held
April 20, 2017 at the
TAO Event Center.