08 June 2006 :

Hands Off Cain welcomes the news that Philippine law makers voted to abolish the death penalty.
“The abolishment of the death penalty in the Philippines following the implementation of a six year moratorium, further confirms that the pragmatic solution put forward by Hands Off Cain brings forth the best results for the development and respect of human rights and the abolition of capital punishment,” stated Sergio D’Elia, Secretary of Hands Off Cain and parliamentarian for the ‘Rose in the Fist’ party.
“Just in 1999 I had gone to the Philippines together with then vice president of the [Italian] senate Carlo Rognoni to ask for the introduction of a moratorium which came into force in 2000.
“We met with Cardinal Sin and state representatives as well as parliamentarians who committed themselves to discussing our proposals.
“It is increasingly urgent to obtain a UN General Assembly based universal moratorium on capital executions in view of complete abolition. This would help first of all those sentenced to death in authoritarian regimes such as China, Iran or Saudi Arabia which carry out 98% of executions worldwide every year.”