The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) welcomes the pronouncement of Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senator Vicente Sotto III abandoning support for the death penalty in the country. Both senators previously authored bills seeking the reimposition of death penalty. Senators Lacson and Sotto cite the possibility of ending the life of an innocent person as the main reason for their change in stance. Indeed, an imperfect criminal justice system may end an innocent life. This recent development is a win for the sanctity of life. We also hope that this is enough to turn the tide in the Senate and halt the proposals to reintroduce capital punishment in the country. We ask other legislators who have given their support for this counterproductive measure to reconsider their position and urge them to affirm the right to life and dignity of all persons.
The Commission takes this opportunity to reiterate its consistent stand on death penalty: any act that deliberately ends the life of a person is inherently wrong. Death penalty violates human dignity and runs counter to the basic principles of human rights. The Philippine Constitution includes a clear State Policy to value the dignity of every human person and to guarantee respect for human rights. The reimposition of death penalty is also violative of our international legal obligations, specifically under the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of death penalty.
Death penalty is an ineffective measure to deter and curb criminality. The suspension of death penalty in 2006 did not result to the increase in crimes. The Commission’s study revealed that the support for death penalty mainly lies in wanting to be safe and secure. The heightened fear of becoming a victim to a crime is pushing Filipinos to support harsher penalties. However, the harshness of the penalty is not a deterrent but the certainty of punishment.
In various advisories, we have stated that what deters crimes are the increased likelihood of apprehension and the certainty and immediacy of conviction, if one is proven guilty of committing a crime. If the court dockets will be decongested and the more sentences will be handed down in an expeditious manner, this may prove to be the real deterrent to criminality.
The swift administration of justice must be coupled with the rehabilitation of offenders. This is part of improving the criminal justice system. Placing convicted individuals in prison is not the end goal. Any discourse on sustained peace and order necessarily includes the reintegration of offenders to mainstream society. Thus, there is a need to strengthen restorative justice programs in the country.
The CHR firm in our resolve to defend the sanctity of human life. We invite everyone to continue to understand the different facets and counterproductive effects of death penalty.
Resources and materials issued and collated by the CHR on death penalty may be found on this site: https://www.righttolifeph.online/.