delivered before the Committee on Justice, House of Representatives
18^th Congress, 1^st Regular Session 
24 September 2019

Thank you Mr. Chair.

The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines supports the government in its campaign against criminality. We do not want any crime to go unpunished. A deterrent to crime is a functional, unbiased, efficient and incorrupt justice system that guarantees certainty of punishment for perpetrators through due process and rule of law, together with broad public confidence. Reintroduction of the death penalty however is not the answer to rising criminality or to attain justice for all.

 We share with you our policy papers highlighting the government’s commitments to various international human rights laws and treaties that uphold the right to life and prohibit the reimposition of the death penalty in our country:

• In Defense of the Right to Life: International Law and Death Penalty in the Philippines (March 2017). This study highlights the country’s commitment to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Findings of the study show that reintroduction of the death penalty in any form in the Philippines will expose the country to international ridicule and criticism as it breaches numerous rules of international law, including rules that it expressly and freely accepted in the free exercise of its sovereignty. Breach of international law by the Philippines in this context will undermine treaty commitments entered into by the Philippines.

• Human Rights Advisory on the Denunciation of and Withdrawal from International Treaties to Re-impose the Death Penalty (July 2017). The CHR reiterated that the Philippines, as a State party to the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its Second Optional Protocol, must adhere to its commitments to ensure that no one in the States Party’s jurisdiction shall be executed and shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction.

• Human Rights Advisory on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) on Death Row (October 2018). The advisory lists down reasons why foreign nationals are disadvantaged abroad, when interacting with foreign justice systems, particularly in jurisdictions with the death penalty. The Philippines must, therefore, retain its position as a country against capital punishment and in doing so, will retain its ability and moral high ground to protect OFWs including those facing the death penalty. 

• National Survey on Public Perceptions on the Death Penalty (October 2018).  The initial results of the 2018 National Survey on Public Perception on the Death Penalty, conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) for the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, show that for six out of seven specific serious crimes related to illegal drugs, 33% or less demand the death penalty or 7 out of 10 did not choose the death penalty.  This is the first survey in the Philippines to explore thought processes and disentangle layers of perceptions about the death penalty. We conducted face-to-face interviews of 2,000 respondents aged 15 and above nationwide during the period March 22 to 27, 2018.

 The Commission draws your attention to  General Comment No. 36 adopted in November 2018, issued by the Human Rights Committee.  Under paragraph 34, it clarifies that the State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that have abolished the Death Penalty are barred from reintroducing it.  The Committee also reiterate that the imposition of Death Penalty for drug offences is prohibited in all circumstances (paragraph 35).   (The General Comment No. 36 was adopted on 30 October 2018:  General Comment No. 36 on Article 6 – on Right to life https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CCPR/Pages/GC36-Article6Righttolife.aspx )

Not all victims want revenge , not all are for the death penalty. But we know that they are united in wanting those who committed crimes to be punished.  Case in point is Ms. Cherie Pie Picache, in the program, Radical Love, it shows her journey to forgive the person responsible for killing her mother.

In the words of Maria Clara Sarmenta, mother of Eileen, the victim of Mayor Sanchez, “At the spur of the moment I said I agreed to restoring the death penalty. But then when I thought it over, being a Christian I would rather have the life sentence because in death penalty, it’s only one injection, tapos na (then it’s done) …. In the life sentence, the prisoner would be given the chance to be reformed and also the mere fact that he suffers, he should be suffering for the crime he did.”  (https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/02/19/eileen-sarmentas-mom-now-for-life-imprisonment-over-death-penalty )

The Philippines, its legislators and government agencies tasked to curb crimes are enabled and capable to hold dangerous offenders and perpetrators accountable and be safe from them without the death penalty.  The yearning to stop the current scourge of drug addiction and its links to criminality is understandable. But to fight crime with violent assertion and revenge as motivation will only perpetuate a culture of violence in the country. Instead, we should develop a credible justice system that works for all, a system that is incorruptible, with objectivity and impartiality. 

The CHR is ready to participate in further deliberations to oppose this measure, present evidence that death penalty does not deter crimes and propose effective alternatives to prevent and punish most serious of crimes.

Thank you very much.