Arroyo approves execution

President Gloria Arroyo has allowed the execution of two of the 17 convicts on death row on October 16, said a source, who did not identify the two convicts.

Arroyo has expressed her disapproval of capital punishment as a means to deter criminals, but she said she supports the execution of kidnappers because of the unabated kidnappings in the country.

With this statement, many believed she referred to robbers who murdered their victims in 2001.

In November 2001, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Lara Licayan and Reynoldo Morial for robbery and homicide.

The duo could only undergo judicial execution not earlier than November this year but not later than May 2003.

Licayan and Lara were convicted by a Marikina court for the abduction of Joseph Tomas Co and Linda Manaysay in August, 1998, whom they brought to village Doang Bakal in the same city. They demanded a $ 200,000 (P10 million) ransom.

But another source said rapist Alfredo Nardo will be put to death more than three months from now after the Legaspi City court sets the schedule for his execution.

The Supreme Court upheld with finality in April, 2001, the conviction handed down against him by the Legaspi regional trial court, thereby making him eligible to die by lethal injection any time between now and October.

The Supreme Court has approved the execution of 17 death convicts, 13 of whom are rapists, two are kidnappers and one a robber and murderer.

Under the law the execution of a death convict cannot be carried out a year after the sentence has become final. Execution should not exceed 18 months from its finality.

Pro-life lawyer's association, Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), has urged Arroyo to stop the executions.

Theodore Te, FLAG acting campaign coordinator, said in a statement that "capital punishment as a deterrent to crime is an experiment that has failed".