MANILA – Members of the Liberal Party (LP) in Congress who will vote for the revival of death penalty will not face sanctions, according to Vice President Leni Robredo.

Robredo, the highest elected official of the LP, gave this assurance to pro-death penalty members of the LP following the latter's release of its position paper stating opposition to efforts to revive the capital punishment.

“Ang napag-desisyunan, kahit may party stand walang sanctions ang hindi susunod,” Robredo told reporters at the House of Representatives.

Some LP members in the House of Representatives belong to the super-majority.

In a position paper released earlier this week, the LP said it opposes the reimposition of the capital punishment because it is “ineffective” and “overly inflicted on the poor and powerless”.

“As a party that envisions and works for a just, prosperous, and more peaceful country, we at the Liberal Party strongly maintain our stand against the re-imposition of the death penalty, and support all opposition against the passage of a death penalty bill,” the party said in a statement.

Duterte’s allies at the House of Representatives are eager to put the bill reviving the death penalty to a vote as early as March, even as lawmakers opposing the measure accuse the majority of railroading the bill.

The situation in the Senate is different, however, as the upper chamber is seen to be divided on the issue.

In its statement, the LP raised several points in opposing the death penalty reimposition, chief of which is that it is not an effective deterrent to crimes.

“Numerous scientific studies conducted in various countries have clearly and indisputably established that the certainty of punishment is a more effective deterrent against crime compared to the severity of punishment,” it said.

It added the death penalty revival will only affect the poor the most.

“In other words, the death penalty disproportionately targets the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society, those who have limited access to adequate legal representation and who are the most prone to have their rights disregarded or violated,” it said.

The political party also said reimposing the death penalty in the Philippines would have damaging consequences, since the country’s justice system remains faulty.

The LP said the Philippines would also be risking its status in the international community if it will reimpose the death penalty, noting that the Philippines is a signatory to various pacts upholding human rights.

The LP, the party of former President Benigno Aquino III, said the Duterte government must instead look into strengthening and reforming the country’s criminal justice system.