Different Perception of the Filipinos to Death Penalty

Espiritu, Julia Reign Augustia J.

MEB-14

G-SOSC 101 Mga Babasahin Hinggil sa Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas

Estrañero, Jumel

De La Salle University- Dasmariñas

The death penalty is legal punishment of execution for criminals who committed heinous

crimes. (Cuerda, n.d). The death penalty was reinstated in the Philippines during the Spanish

colonial period and it was retained until the American period. According to the

Parliamentarians for Global Action, the Philippines is the first country in Asia to abolish the

death penalty in all crimes under the 1987 constitution. One of the biggest issues in the

Philippines is crime, and as of 2013, it has the highest rate of murder cases of any country in

Southeast Asia (UNODC Homicide Statistics, 2013).

II. BODY

The death penalty was reimposed during the administration of former President Fidel V.

Ramos to address the rising crime during his term in 1993. The death penalty was also present

under the administrations of former Presidents Cory Aquino and Joseph Ejercito Estrada. The

death penalty was abolished again during the administration of former President Gloria

Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006 (Yuching, 2022). She  commuted the death penalties of 1,230

prisoners on death row, which according to Amnesty International believed to be the biggest

number of prisoners on death row. The Republic Act (RA) No. 9346, “An Act of Prohibiting the

Imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines”. The Senate and the House of Representatives

eventually approved this Act, which unites Senate Bill No. 2254 and House Bill No. 4826, on the

7th day of June 2006. It was then approved and signed on the 24th day of June 2006.
 In the fifth State of the Nation Address of former President Rodrigo Duterte, proposed

the death penalty by lethal injection for serious drug-related crimes (Limpot, 2020). According to

a research by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), many Filipinos supported the former

president's proposal to reinstate the death penalty because they wanted to feel protected from the

criminality that the nation is dealing with in the modern period. When the House of

Representatives voted to pass the Bill in 2017, it almost succeeded.

III. ANALYSIS

Several studies are gathered and analyzed in order to achieve this study. The Perceptions

about the death penalty vary and are impacted by different reasons.

Human Rights

The Philippines have a complex history about the death penalty and it has been a

controversial issue in the realm of human rights. There are several incident reports of human

rights violations and killings in the Philippines over the years. Many people were executed from

several kinds of crimes, some people were wrongfully killed. Death penalty is irreversible and

has no room for human errors. According to Amnesty International, the death penalty is the most

inhumane and cruel punishment and opposes it without any exception.

According to de Vera (2020), The Catholic Bishops maintained their opposition to the

reinstatement of the death penalty, they argued that the death penalty has no proof to deter

criminal behavior. They highly valued the human rights of each and everyone, and that the death

penalty violates human rights and degrades a person's dignity. In addition, Pope Francis says that

it defies God's design for a man and society.

Perception of the Community in death penalty

The Perception of the Filipino Community in the death penalty is generally divided.

Several Filipinos are in favor of the reimposition of the death penalty in today’s era due to the

reason that they wanted to feel safe from the emerging crime rates that the country is facing.

While other Filipinos are opposed to it for the reason that it is ineffective to solve the emerging

crime rates and the risk of executing people is high because death penalty is an irreversible act

and there is no room for errors.

IV. RECOMMENDATION

This study suggests additional investigation into the history of the death penalty and the

reasons it was instituted and later abolished in our community, in order to broaden people's

understanding and perception.

Additionally, acquiring more literature materials about the death penalty is advised for

future researchers as this subject is generally politically sensitive and divisive. Therefore, it is

crucial to approach the topic with an open mind, a dedication to neutrality.

In conclusion, Filipinos' perceptions about the death penalty vary and are impacted by

different reasons namely, personal experiences, judicial systems, and religious convictions.

While some believe that the death penalty should be used to reduce crime and uphold justice,

others disagree, believing it to be an inadequate and cruel method of punishment.

An act to impose the death penalty on certain heinous crimes, amending for that purpose the

revised penal laws, as amended, other special penal laws, and for other purposes. (1993)

https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1993/ra_7659_1993.html#:~:text=Parricide.,of%20

reclusion%20 perpetua%20to%20death.%22

A position paper on the death Penalty in the Philippines. Cuerda, A. (2020).

https://www.scribd.com/document/373381685/A-Position-Paper-on-the-Death-Penalty-in-the-Ph

ilippines#

Bishops explain opposition to the death penalty (n.d.)

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2020-08/philippines-bishops-explain-opposition-to-

death-penalty.html

Duterte calls for revival of death penalty by lethal injection for drug-related crimes. Limpot, K

(2020).

https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/7/27/Duterte-death-penalty-revival-fifth-SONA.htm

DeathPenalty (n.d.)

(https://www.amnesty.org.ph/campaigns/deathpenalty/#:~:text=Amnesty%20International%20ho

lds%20that%20the,by%20the%20UN%20in%201948.

FAST FACTS: Death penalty in the world and in the Philippines. Yuching, M.(2020).

https://www.rappler.com/nation/things-to-know-death-penalty-philippines-worldwide/#:~:text=C
apital%20punishment%20in%20the%20country,firing%20squad%20and%20garrote%2C%20res

pectively.

Fact Sheet: Note on the Death Penalty and the Philippines (n.d.)

https://balayph.net/news-events/features-and-articles/128-fact-sheet-note-on-the-death-penalty-and-the-ph

ilippines-2#:~:text=In%20December%201993%2CPresident%20Ramos,RA

Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the President of the International Commission against the

Death Penalty (2015).

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2015/documents/papa-francesco_20150320_l

ettera-pena-morte.html

Philippines and the Death Penalty (2006). https://wR.A. 9346ww.pgaction.org/ilhr/adp/phl.html

UNODC Homicide Statistics. (2013). UNODC Homicide Statistics. Retrieved October 22, 2020,

from UNODC Homicide Statistics:

https://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf
MESSAGE TO PROFESSOR

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my dear professor Jumel Estrañero. In the

short span of time you made my first year bearable and memorable. Despite the learning

difficulties brought by the online set-up, you made it easy, your dedication, unending support and

guidance inspired us. May odds be ever in your favor.