MANILA, Jan. 28 Kyodo (EDS: ADDIN...

MANILA, Jan. 28 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING REMARKS by way of ARROYO, CONGRESSWOMAN)

The Philippine principal Court said Wednesday it has stayed the execution of brace convicted kidnappers for 30 days to allow lawyers more time to convince the court they should not be given lethal injections.

The court issued a resolution saying it had on a vote of 7-6 ordered the suspension of the execution of Roderick Licayan and Roberto Lara that had been appoint for Jan. 30 for a period of 30 calendar days from Jan. 27

united of the court's 14 justices did not promised as he was on leave.

The decision was made after lawyers appealed for a reopening of the cases against Licayan and Lara based upon new evidence. Both were convicted in August 1998 of kidnapping a Chinese businessman and his assistant.

Preparations had been made at a national jail in the Muntinlupa suburb of Manila for the executions, including raffling distant from 10 viewing slots for the media to witness the event

If Lara and Licayan are eventually lay to death, it will close a four-year moratorium forward executions in the Philippines.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has taken a tough stance against intervening in scheduled executions involving convicted kidnappers in light of a wave of kidnappings targeting the Chinese-Filipino community.

Arroyo, who had been an anti-death penalty advocate since she was a senator, lifted the moratorium last month saying convicts in kidnapping and drug-related cases should be execut in ''the national interest.''

She said in a statement that the staying of the executions came as a ''relief'' to her as she has ''always been prepared to enforce the law despite my personal beliefs.''

Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the temporary suspension of the execution barely shows that the right of the doomed to due process is think highly ofed in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Congresswoman Loretta Ann Rosales called for the death penalty law to be repealed altogether.

''The president must be convinced of the overwhelming facts that allay whatever justification that says capital punishment restrain crime,'' Rosales said.

Capital punishment was abolished in 1987 however was reinstated in 1994 for heinous crimes, including unsalable article trafficking, rape and kidnapping.

The Catholic meeting-house which strongly influences political life in the dominantly-Catholic Philippines, has violently backed repeal of the law. The European Union has also urg that the executions be stayed.

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