The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) welcomes the remarks and insights of the President that reflect his primary considerations concerning calls to revive the death penalty. In a recent Youtube interview, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that there are practical and moral issues surrounding capital punishment.

In particular, the President surfaced the moral issue in the form of a question: “Does society have the right to kill its own people?” He added that this moral question is hard to dismiss. Further, he cited that data on death penalty shows that it does not deter crimes.

In our firm stance against the death penalty, the CHR has similarly stressed the aforementioned concerns, notwithstanding our legal obligations to uphold the right to life as mandated by the 1987 Philippine Constitution and our obligation to uphold the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which completely and perpetually banned the imposition of the death penalty in the country.

On moral grounds, a government that employs a policy of killing loses the moral ascendancy to stop killings. As we have numerously stressed, committing a crime to deter a crime can only breed more harm and may perpetuate a cycle of violence because the children and family of the executed person are left to suffer the sorrow of loss and stigma from the society. We have also repeatedly said that such policy will lead to the weakening of our moral ground to plead for the lives of our overseas Filipino workers in death row. To ensure our legitimacy in asking for clemency from foreign governments, we must not be conflicted in our stand against the death penalty.

As mentioned by the President, it is worth stressing that there is no credible evidence that can prove that the death penalty can curb crime. It is also a sad reality, as proven by studies, that those facing execution are mostly from the poor, with no access to competent lawyers nor to decent education that empower them about their rights. No less than the Supreme Court has recognized through People v. Mateo that the error rate in imposing the death sentence is 71.77%. This shows that such policy is disproportionately disadvantageous to the poor.

In terms of public opinion, it is also worth considering that 7 out of 10 Filipinos will not choose the death penalty when presented with facts about the death penalty, alternatives other than capital punishment, and its impact, according to the 2020 CHR study on factors affecting Filipino opinion about the death penalty. (https://bit.ly/3UhheZU)

Certainty of punishment against heinous crimes is crucial in ensuring accountability toward preventing crimes. In accordance with the rule of law and due process, CHR believes that all crimes must be punished through an efficient and incorrupt justice system. But death penalty must not exist in a society that values human life. Instead, we must continually endeavor to address the complex and deeper problems that result to crimes to truly eliminate violence and promote a peaceful, humane society. ###