The Death Penalty in the Philippines: Unlawful, Inhumane, and Anti-Poor

Questioning the Justness of the Death Penalty

“Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.” Not all the time, this quote is true, and I will discuss why. The death penalty is a lethal punishment imposed by a court of law for very heinous actions. In recognition that the death penalty is the gravest threat violation of the right to life, the Philippines repealed Republic Act 7659 more than ten years ago. Subsequently, the country officially recognized the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which emphasized the cruel and inhumane nature of the death penalty.

Personal Stand: The Discriminatory Nature of the Death Penalty

As an individual and a citizen here in the Philippines, I do not agree with implementing the death penalty here in our country. The death penalty is not something that I agree with because it is unlawful and inhumane. It takes away someone’s life or right to live. It violates the law, and it’s very anti-poor. With our justice right now, in many cases, the perpetrators are proven innocent, and only the poor will be affected and suffer. The norm in Philippine society is that being less fortunate makes it impossible for you to fight an authority figure or someone in power. You’ll notice that discrimination is taking place.

It is stated that this will only be imposed on heinous crimes such as rape, terrorist bombings, murder, and other crimes related to murder. There are many options for this process, such as the electric chair, small injections, and others. No, it shouldn’t be like this. It’s inhumane. We are all human beings, so we should not treat others like animals.

Arguing Against the Death Penalty: A Plea for Humanity

The latter paper argues against the death penalty in the country. While the death penalty is necessary to reduce the number of people convicted of serious crimes, it violates the right to life. Vengeance is different from punishment. I believe in punishment, but I also believe that vengeance poisons the heart.

It is said that there are a lot of public lawyers, but research shows that 95% of people on death row have no choice but to defend themselves. Using the death penalty is indeed a naive approach to dealing with criminality. According to Punongbayan, the death penalty can be defended on moral, intellectual, or legal grounds. However, based solely on available data, it is clear that the death penalty, as it was previously used, was mostly needless and ineffective in reducing crime.

Global Perspective: The Shift Away from Capital Punishment

Although it would be a deterrent, the death sentence discriminated against the poor and had disturbingly high mistake rates. That is why, over the past few years, many countries have eliminated the death penalty. Based on the research of Amnesty International, over 140 countries have already gotten rid of the death penalty in both law and practice. Most of our governments are reluctant to acknowledge that the problem of crime is more complicated and multifaceted.

Current Developments: Assessing the State of Death Penalty in the Philippines

We all recall that after the death penalty was abolished in 2006, former President Duterte urged Congress to reinstate it. To address the drug and crime issues facing the nation. Despite not having the death penalty, crime rates have decreased. In accordance with Fonbuena, the Senate is poised to kill the death penalty. The benefits and drawbacks of the death penalty are heavily debated. But in this case, they have tackled the topic by relying on data, empirical research, and an examination of the nation’s prior experience with the death penalty. Overall, the data indicate that, considering the state of our legal and judicial systems currently, the death penalty will be unnecessary, anti-poor, and prone to error.

A Call for Reform and Respect for Human Dignity

In my opinion, the justice system in the Philippines is junk. Calling for the death penalty is only going to give them more reason to abuse their power. The man deserves to rot in the cell with reclusion Perpetua and no chance of being pardoned. Executions are all violations of the right to life. Public executions are an affront to human dignity that cannot be tolerated.

References

1. Amnesty International. (2020). “Global Report on Death Penalty Trends”. Amnesty International.
2. Galbraith, J., AlMarri, L., Bhati, L., Brooks, R., Green, Z., Hu, M., & Irshaidat, N. (2023). Poverty Penalties as Human Rights Problems. American Journal of International Law, 117(3), 397-440. doi:10.1017/ajil.2023.25

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