Manila (AsiaNews) – President Gloria Arroyo said she intends to reinstate the death penalty as of this coming January.

A moratorium on capital punishment was put into effect in during the Jubilee period, in March 2000, after the Filipino Church placed pressure on then president Joseph Estrada.

In a statement to the press, the Filipino president said she has decided not to put a block any longer on executions. She has been the target of much criticism on account of the unstable security issues dominating the country. In recent months, there have been various reporting of abductions for reasons of blackmail, above all directed toward the Chinese community, which is considered to be the country's wealthiest ethic population.

 "Although from a moral perspective I am against the death penalty, the president must bear in mind what is better for the greater general public in determinate exceptional circumstances," said Arroyo.

Crime and capital punishment are becoming widely debated issues as candidates gear up for the presidential elections occurring in May 2004.

• philippines
• death
• penalty
• human
• rights
• social
• instability