SEN. Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay made a strong point when she declared in an interview with CNN Philippines on Thursday that the nation should focus on survival, not death, amid the current pandemic, and not be distracted by a fresh debate over the death penalty.

The senator questioned the timing of President Rodrigo Duterte’s renewed call for the revival of capital punishment in the country, and said the administration should instead focus its attention on plans for survival and virus control amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.