Did the Ilonggo solons vote yes by heart?

"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."
--Tony Robbins

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- It's a landslide. 
All congressmen and woman from Iloilo and Guimaras voted yes for the restoration of death penalty.
No one wanted to be an island. 
No one was willing to be a lonely voice in the wilderness.
There were no Benjamins, Dracoses, and Lycurguses.
Roman poet Juvenal onced asked: "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" or "Who will guard the guards?"
The Ilonggo solons are: Atty. Jerry Trenas (Iloilo City); Richard Garin (Iloilo, 1st District); Arcadio Gorriceta (Iloilo, 2nd District); Atty. Arthur Defensor Jr. (Iloilo, 3rd District); Dr. Ferjenel Biron (Iloilo, 4th District); Raul Tupas (Iloilo, 5th District); and Maria Lucille Nava (Guimaras).

DECIDE

We hope that when they decided to vote yes, they did so because that was what their respective constituents wanted them to vote; and the affirmative vote came from the innermost chamber of their hearts.
We hope they could sustain their yes votes in Plaza Miranda, and explain to their children and grandchildren why some criminals must die after being convicted.
If they voted yes because of "peer pressure" (let's call it Speaker Alvarez's Sword of Damocles) or because they succumbed to Malacanang's alleged "carrot and stick" tactics, history would be unkind to them.
We doubt, however, if anyone of them held a consultation meeting with their constituents before they cast their votes.
If they did, we believe many of these Iloilo and Guimaras solons would be hard-pressed to carry out the yes vote because many Ilonggos are totally against the death penalty.

TANGO

Because everything is now water under the bridge in as far as the Lower House is concerned, we will wait for the Upper Chamber or the Senate whether it will complete the tango or split the legislative stand on the measure being passionately pushed and pursued by President Duterte.
A total of 217 lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill Number 4727, while 54 voted against it and one abstained. 
A total of 257 out of 293 congressmen were present in the voting during the final reading on March 7, 2017.
The bill seeks to allow judges to punish perpetrators of certain drug-related crimes with either life imprisonment or death. The bill allows the execution to be done either through hanging, firing squad, or lethal injection.