Published :Wednesday, 18 May, 2016, Time : 12:00 AM View Count : 21
MANILA, May 17 : A plan by Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte to restore the death penalty faces strong opposition, including from the dominant Roman Catholic Church, officials and analysts said on Tuesday. The tough-talking politician vowed on Monday to introduce executions by hanging after he takes office on June 30 as part of a ruthless law-and-order crackdown that would also include ordering military snipers to kill suspected criminals. After putting to death seven convicted criminals by lethal injection in 1999-2000, the Philippines abolished the death penalty in 2006 following stiff opposition from the Catholic Church, the religion of 80 percent of Filipinos. Duterte's landslide May 9 election victory does not sway the bishops' stance, Father Lito Jopson said. ?AFP