EU fears billions of dollars might lose in trade deals if PHL gov’t pushes through with death penalty

The European Union (EU) on Friday said they feared billions of dollars in trade deals might lose should the Philippine government push through with its plans to resurrect death penalty. (Photo: ASEAN 2017Facebook)

MANILA—The European Union (EU) on Friday said they feared billions of dollars in trade deals might lose should the Philippine government push through with its plans to resurrect death penalty.

EU members does not believed death penalty is a deterrent to fight criminality.

“We are concerned about some of the issues here in the Philippines: the reinstatement of the death penalty, also the extrajudicial killings and the proposal to lower the judicial responsibility age to 9 years – and this is also some of the concerns that we have conveyed to our partners here in the Philippines,” European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malstrom told reporters on the sidelines of ASEAN-EU Business Summit in Pasay City.

Malstrom admitted this move could affect the review of the current trade agreement between EU and Philippines called the Generalized System of Preference Plus (GSP+).

The GSP+ agreement aims to grant the Philippines zero duties on some 6,274 locally-made products.

She explained that the agreement, which is currently under review, required the Philippine ratification of 27 international conventions which cater to human and labor rights, environmental protection, and good governance, among others.

The House of Representatives passed on third and final reading the controversial death penalty bill. The ball is now in the hands of the Senate and is now being debated in the plenary.