GMA TO WAIT FOR CONGRESS DEATH PENALTY REVIEW

President Arroyo will wait for Congress to finish its review of the death
penalty law before deciding whether to order the execution of convicted
drug traffickers and kidnappers, Palace officials said yesterday.

"As far as illegal drugs and kidnapping, she has kept her options open on
this matter," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said. "But she still has
to have consultations on the matter."

Mrs. Arroyo earlier said she was "prepared to exercise utmost political
will" -- including executions -- to win her administration's renewed
campaign against illegal drugs and kidnappings.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, which is spearheading the
crackdown, proposed the execution of convicted big-time drug traffickers to
serve as a warning to offenders.

Last Thursday, Mrs. Arroyo said she may allow executions to resume as part
of a high-profile campaign against illegal drugs.

"I shall make a decision on the possible reimposition of the death penalty
on the basis of moral principles and due process," she said in a statement.

Shortly after martial law was declared by the late dictator Ferdinand
Marcos in September 1972, a notorious Chinese-Filipino drug lord, Lim Seng,
was sentenced to death by a military tribunal and executed by firing squad.

Marcos ordered the execution -- the only one in the Philippines carried out
by firing squad -- shown on live television as part of his crackdown on
crime. Executions then were carried out by electric chair.

Last year, Mrs. Arroyo indefinitely suspended the execution of death row
convicts until Congress decides whether or not to repeal the death penalty law.

Prior to the suspension, Mrs. Arroyo suspended the August 30 execution of
convicted rapist Rolando Pagdayawon and because she felt awkward putting
him to death on the eve of Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin's 74th
birthday.

Pagdayawon was convicted of raping his own daughter.

Mrs. Arroyo also gave two other death row convicts a 90-day reprieve. This
suspension would have lasted until November 28. More than 20 convicted
criminals were scheduled to die last year, according to a list released by
the Bureau of Corrections.

The deferment came a day after 100 congressmen crossed party lines and
passed a resolution urging the President to suspend any planned executions
while they deliberate a proposal to abolish capital punishment.

The law can only be repealed if both the House and the Senate arrive at a
consensus.

Filipinos are divided on the death penalty issue, with supporters saying it
has become necessary amid rising criminality.

Opponents, including the Roman Catholic Church and human rights groups,
argue that the death penalty has not curbed crime and claim that more
efficient law enforcement is the solution.

The death penalty was restored in 1994 for heinous crimes such as rape,
kidnapping-for-ransom, murder and drug trafficking. Executions are to be
carried out by lethal injection.

More than 1,690 people have been sentenced to death, but, under the law, an
execution of a convict can only be carried out after the Supreme Court
upholds the conviction with finality.

Seven convicts were executed in 1999, but then President Joseph Estrada
ordered an indefinite freeze following pressure from human rights groups
and the Catholic Church.

A devout Catholic, Mrs. Arroyo did not support the reimposition of the
death penalty when she was then a senator.

Mrs. Arroyo suspended the death penalty after she took over the presidency
from Estrada, who was ousted in a military-backed massive protest in
January 2001.

She lifted the moratorium in October last year, saying the freeze had
emboldened criminals, particularly kidnap-for-ransom gangs. Abductions,
particularly of wealthy Chinese-Filipino businessmen, have scared away
investors and tourists.

No executions have occurred since the moratorium was lifted.