Vice President Leni Robredo INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday contradicted the claim of President Rodrigo Duterte that the death penalty would bring retribution to criminals who had wronged society.
鈥淚 believe that our criminal justice system is such that it does not believe that penalties should be for retribution. Penalties should be for rehabilitation and reintegration,鈥� Robredo said at a forum with students of St. Scholastica鈥檚 College in Manila as part of its celebration of International Women鈥檚 Month.
In his long and rambling press conference on Monday, Mr. Duterte said 鈥渢he prayer is for a death penalty as a deterrence.鈥�
鈥淪ome groups have completely ignored the [other] aspect of the criminal laws. What鈥檚 the purpose of criminal law? It鈥檚 retribution. Pay for what you owe society,鈥� the President said.
Both the President and the Vice President are lawyers. Mr. Duterte spent several years as a prosecutor while Robredo was a human rights lawyer before she went into politics.
Robredo received a loud applause from the packed auditorium when she said she was against the death penalty.
The Vice President also spoke about continuing the fight for women empowerment.
鈥淚 hope you will take the time to learn of the troubles of women who are poorer than you and have lesser opportunities than you. It doesn鈥檛 take much to be aware of how the rest of our population live and engage them with empathy,鈥� Robredo said.
The Filipino women are now each other鈥檚 鈥渟upport system鈥� as it has become a global trend that 鈥渙ur little girls are exposed to misogyny from society鈥檚 leaders, coarse language and vulgar references that can be heard over the radio and television. Sexual harassment and disrespect have become cool,鈥� she said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to silently swallow all of these things. We must learn how to stand up for our rights,鈥� Robredo said.