PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT GRANTS REPRIEVE TO 21 DEATH ROW PRISONERS Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has granted a 90-day reprieve to 21 death row prisoners scheduled for execution. They were originally due to be executed in April and May, would have their dates of execution pushed back to July and August following the order sent by Arroyo to the Justice Department. The 21 were sentenced to face lethal injection for crimes ranging from rape to murder, kidnapping for ransom and drug trafficking, the department said in a statement. Arroyo did not say why she was postponing the executions. The president, a devout Catholic, had originally said she would impose a moratorium on the death penalty after coming to power in 2001. After a rash of kidnappings and murders in 2003, Arroyo lifted the moratorium and said the law must be followed to appease victims and crime watchdogs. However no executions have been carried out and Arroyo has always granted reprieves for those scheduled for execution. The Philippines lifted a ban on judicial executions in 1999 during the term of deposed president Joseph Estrada as part of the government's anti-crime drive. Seven inmates were executed between 1999 and 2000 before Estrada imposed a moratorium on further executions after pressure from the Catholic church and rights groups. There are more than 1,000 inmates on death row, 29 of them women. According to senator Ralph Recto there are also an estimated 20 children waiting on death row.
