Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
President Rodrigo Duterte (Public Domain image)

Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, the head of the Philippine bishops’ conference, urged Catholic lawmakers on Sept. 14 not to support “any attempt to restore the death penalty” and called on Catholic lawyers to “study the issue and to oppose” it by filing legal cases against it. Less than a week after Rodrigo Duterte was sworn into office as president of the Philippines, a staunch political ally and the new speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, Pantaleon Álvarez of Davao del Norte, filed a proposal to reinstate the death penalty. Duterte ran, and won by a large margin, on a platform of ridding the country of criminals by having them killed and encouraging the public to kill them. He has repeatedly called for the death penalty to be reinstated and, in early September, again urged the Philippine Congress to pass the bill. Since Duterte took office on June 30, more than 3,400 people accused of drug dealing or addiction have died at the hands of law enforcement and private citizens.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

The Rev. David Tracy, who died on April 29, was a monumental figure in American Catholicism, renowned as a teacher, scholar, writer and mentor to thousands of theologians.
James T. KeaneJune 03, 2025
President Donald Trump, center, surrounded by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., speaks to reporters before a House Republican conference meeting, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The church and the bishops of the United States should lead the way in speaking against this bill and calling on Catholics to work for its defeat, writes Archbishop John C. Wester of Sante Fe.
John C. WesterJune 03, 2025
A woman in Texas receives assistance in filling out Medicaid and SNAP application forms. Increased paperwork and red tape can have the effect of discouraging even those eligible for Medicaid from applying for it. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez, File)
Medicaid programs allow more children to attend school and climb out of poverty, and they allow some 4.5 million people to live in their own homes rather than in institutions.
David GayesJune 03, 2025
In processing the extent of the suffering, it is helpful to recall the foundational principle of our Catholic social teaching—that everyone possesses inherent dignity and the God-given right not just to survive, but to live well.