The world is not a safe playground.

There are people who do well by caring and

giving to those who are in need and there are those who go by their own selfish
desires without thinking of the possible impact in the society. Making mistakes and
harming others are some what part of human nature. Harming others is not humane. In
early times, tribes established rules and laws to govern their people and to prevent
them from causing damage to the tribes. Laws such as giving penalty or punishment
to a person who steals or kill. In early times there were laws punishing these crimes in
todays era there are also laws that gives sentence to anyone who commits a grave
crime. Crime is an illegal act which someone can be punished by the government. It is
a foolish or a wrong doing. It is not only harming a particular individual but also the
community. A criminal offence is defined by the criminal law of each country. Acts of
murder, rape and theft are to be prohibited worldwide. The state also has the power to
restrict ones liberty for committing a crime. While every crime violates the law, not
every violation of the law counts as a crime. Breaches of private law are not
automatically punished by the state, but can be enforced through civil procedure. In
todays era, there are procedures to which investigations and trials must adhere. An
offender has his or her right to seek a lawyer and defend himself or herself in court. If
found guilty, an offender may be sentenced in a form of reparation such as community
sentence, depending on the nature of offence. There are grave offenses that may
sentenced to imprisonment with the length of time based on the law of the land e.g.
life imprisonment and jurisdiction such as execution.

Death penalty, capital penalty or execution is punishment by death. Crimes that can
result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The
term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally "regarding the head" which is
referring to execution by beheading. In history, most of the societies carry out this
punishment to criminals, political and religious dissidents. Those people who are
sentenced with this penalty in early times are often accompanied by torture and
execution in public.

In modern times, 36 countries actively practice capital punishment, 103

countries have completely abolished it de jure for all crimes, 6 have abolished it for
ordinary crimes while maintaining it during special circumstances such as war crimes
and 50 have abolished it de facto, have not used it for at least ten years and/or are
under moratorium. Nearly all nations of the world prohibit execution ages under 18 at

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the time of their crime. In 2009, only Iran, Sudan and Saudi Arabia have carried such
executions but these executions are prohibited in international law. 1The United
Nations General Assembly has adopted, in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 non-
binding resolutions calling for a global moratorium on executions, with a view to
eventual abolition. Modern day public opinion varies by country and the crime in
questions. Use of capital penalty in India in 2010s is growing due to both a growth
in right wing politics and due to anger over several recent brutal cases of rape. While
support for the death penalty for murder is still high in China executions have dropped
abruptly with only 3000 executed in 2012 versus 12,000 in 2002. Trend in this era is
creating an execution in a more humane and less painful way. In France they
developed the guillotine in 18th century. Shah of Persia introduced throat cutting and
blowing from a gun as quick and painless alternatives to more torment methods. In
the U.S, the electric chair and gas chambers were introduced as more humane
alternatives to hanging but almost entirely superseded by lethal injection which has
been criticised as more painful. Death penalty in the Philippines has a lot of
controversies and issues. Many Filipinos opposed in this kind of penalty because of
religious and humanitarian grounds. During the Spanish colonial rule most common
methods of execution were firing squad, garrotte and death by hanging. No executions
took place under President Manuel L. Quezon. Until April 1950 when Julio Guillien
was executed for attempting to assassinate President Manuel Roxas. Many cases of
execution followed. There were a lot of citizens who voted to abolish death penalty in
the Philippines, it was suspended via Republic Act no. 9346 signed by President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on June 24 2006, life imprisonment and reclusion perpetua
replaced the death penalty. Death penalty is not an ordinary penalty for the guilty but
it is a penalty that requires life to pay the price of the crime committed. Is life an
equal payment to the damages caused by the offender? Do the people in office has the
right to take life in order to bring justice to the oppress? In this study, it would take
the readers to the history of death penalty in Philippines, some executed citizens and
their cases that would to knowing of the advantages and disadvantages of death
penalty in the Philippine setting.

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_moratorium_on_the_death_penalty

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A. History of Death Penalty in the Philippines

Capital punishment in the Philippines has a varied history and was suspended
on June 24, 2006 the second time since 1987 the Filipinos has a mixed opinions about
the death penalty with many opposing it on religious and humanitarian grounds. In
1946 to 1986 the capital crimes after regaining full sovereignty in July 1946 were
murder, rape and treason but however, no executions took place until April 1950 when
2
Julio Gullien who was executed for attempting to assassinate President Manuel
Roxas. The other notable cases includes 3Marcil "Baby" Ama electrocuted at the age
of 16 on October 4, 1961 for murders committed while in prison for lesser charges.
Ama notably became the subject of the popular 1976 film Bitayin si... Baby Ama
(Execute Baby Ama!) In total 51 people were electrocuted up to 1961.

The Execution numbers climbed under 4President Ferdinand Marcos, who was
the ironically himself sentenced to death in 1939 for murder of Julio Nalundasan the
political rival of his father Mariano the young Ferdinand was acquitted on the appeal.
A well-publicised triple execution took place in 5May 1972 when Jaime Jos, Basilio
Pineda and Edgardo Aquino were electrocuted for the 1967 abduction and gang-rape
of the young actress Maggie dela Riva. The state ordered that the executions be
broadcast on national television and also under the Marcos regime the drug trafficking
also became punishable with death by firing squad such as the case with Lim Seng
whose execution in December 1972 was also ordered broadcast on national television.
The future President and then Chief of the Philippine Constabulary General Fidel V.
Ramos were present at the execution that time.

The electric chair was used until 1976 when execution by firing squad
eventually replaced it as the sole method of execution. Under Marcos 20 year
authoritarian rule the countless more people were summarily executed, tortured or
simply disappeared for opposition to his rule. After Marcos was deposed in 1986 the
newly drafted 1987 Constitution limited the application of the death penalty to only a
few crimes. This meant that it was abolished in practice making the Philippines the

2
roxasassailantdieinelectricchair site:news.google.com/newspapers
3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitayin_si..._Baby_Ama!
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos
5
http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/05/17/1972-the-rapists-of-maggie-dela-riva/

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first Asian country to do so and the death of 6Leo Echegaray in 1999 by lethal
injection took place under Ramos successor Joseph Estrada marking the first
execution after the reinstatement of the death penalty. The Executions were resumed a
year later the Philippines was the only country aside from the United States that used
the electric chair due to its being introduced during the US colonial period. Until its
first abolition in 1987 the country reverted by using the death by firing squad and
after re-introduction of the death penalty in 1993 the country switched to lethal
injection as its sole method of execution.

I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

A. This study aims to know the differences and advantages of death penalty.

B. To be able to for see the different disadvantages that it can bring to the
government and the society as a whole.

C.
A. Advantages of death penalty
First advantage on having a death penalty in the Philippines it will show to the
justice system that there is no sympathy for the criminals because when criminals
escape from the capital punishment they will repeat their crimes and take more
innocent lives here in the Philippines and also the availability of modern testings
such as DNA testing reduces the chances of punishing the innocents.

Second advantage on having a death penalty in the Philippines is that they are
many who offer the logic that the more severe the crime the harsher should be the
punishment. Death penalty is seen as the most extreme form of punishment which is
generally reserved for the most heinous of crimes. The penalty should fit the crime
and in extreme cases extreme measures should determine the course of justice.

Third advantage on having a death penalty in the Philippines is that Death penalty
also ensures the safety of rest of the prison inmates as statistics establish that most of

6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Echegaray

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the capitally punished criminals are violent and prone to be unpredictable. In a
volatile situation they may endanger the safety of other prisoners.
Fourth advantage on having a death penalty in the Philippines is that the
imprisonment keeps the possibility of the criminal coming out on parole and
becoming a threat to the civil society and a possibility which is put to rest by
execution. There have been many instances of prisoners who are out on parole
indulging in criminal behaviour taking advantage of their conditional release.
Fifth advantage on having a death penalty in the Philippines is that many will be
scared to commit a crime because they will be put into a death penalty but not all
cases Therefore, the capital punishment can be an effective tool to control the crimes
the Philippines. The death penalty can address the problem of overpopulation in the
prisons. It gives also closure to the families of the victims who have already suffered a
lot.
Disadvantage of death penalty
First disadvantage of death penalty while it is argued that capital punishment is cost
effective most penalty cases are appealed in the higher courts which incur more
expenses than execution. The additional procedures and extra appeals thus bring down
the cost effectiveness of death penalties.
Second disadvantage of death penalty there will be many who argue that capital
punishment is barbaric, cruel and blatantly inhuman, no matter how heinous the crime
is and the state sanctioned executions tend to justify the murder of the criminal and
defeat the whole logic of death penalty being a fitting punishment for extreme crimes
such as murder itself.
Third disadvantage of death penalty the capital punishment doesnt give any criminal
the opportunity to be remorseful of his deeds and it does treat those who feel guilty
for their crimes a fair opportunity to improve their behaviour.
Fourth disadvantage of death penalty in most cases people who can afford to hire the
expensive lawyers often survived from such kind of capital punishment. People who
are poor and cannot afford to get a quality legal assistance becomes the victim of this
penalty.

Fifth disadvantage of death penalty there has also been no concrete evidence that
capital punishments have been able to deter potential criminals from committing

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felonies. Justifying death penalties in the name of discouraging future crimes seems to
be too simplistic an argument to many.
CONCLUSION

My conclusion in this issue of death penalty is being applied at an accelerating

rate in the Philippines as in the past it appears to be imposed inconsistently and in a
disproportionate way against the poor, ill-educated and disadvantaged. The risk of
judicial errors is mounting and Amnesty International is gravely concerned over the
use of illegal methods including torture by criminal investigative officers seeking to
extract confessions. Moreover, there is apprehension over inadequate safeguards
especially in the lower courts to ensure the defendants have access to competent
counsel and that the rigorous standards of fair trial essential in capital cases are upheld
and also they will do strapping a prisoner to a bed and injecting him or her with a
cocktail of lethal drugs is brutalizing and degrading this kind of penalty it violates the
principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and undermines the
aspiration for a renewed respect for human rights that lay at the heart of the popular
movement that restored constitutional democracy in the Philippines in the 1980s.
So, it should not be reinstated in this country again because for we are religion
oriented and The Bible told us that killing other people is immoral and also my
family is not in favour of death penalty especially in the Philippines because we have
no right to kill or to get someones life whether he/she is guilty of doing a criminal or
not because every person is equal before the law and which no person, no state can or
should take that. In the Philippines, they should improve the justice system because
the death penalty is useless because rich people can only manipulate the case to be
thrown at the innocent poor people and even if they improve the justice system we are
not sure if charges will be filed correctly and money is the primary answer. It is also
better if we add additional charges for the convicted plunderers on congress and any
government officials who caught stealing peoples property and money so that we will
know who are these government officials who steal the money for they own good.

Lastly, Im not really in favour of death penalty simple because I rather see a
criminal suffer for a long period of time in the prison than see him/her dead which is
not right.
RECOMMENDATION

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 7
That the root cause of criminality which is poverty be sustainably addressed by
concerned stakeholders especially the government. The law enforcement agencies,
penal and justice system be thoroughly reformed as to efficiently address the issue and
problem of criminality. The culture of life is aggressively pursued and promoted
instead of the numbing culture of death and violence and also the government of the
Philippines should order an independent inquiry into the reports of illegalities at the
pre-trial stage, including reports of ill-treatment and torture to confess.
In preparation for the permanent suspension and eventual abolition of the death
penalty the Government of the Philippines should lead the death penalty debate by
giving the public information about the risk of judicial error and the disproportionate
application of the death penalty against disadvantaged groups. The government should
launch and explain a program of police and judicial reform designed to provide an
effective check to criminality.
Death penalty has not been proven to be a deterrent to crime only those who can
afford expensive litigation fees are bound to face it if a person has committed a crime,
life imprisonment is more than enough punishment for him/her to suffer and to
transform him/her into a better person. After all, God has His way of retribution. The
death penalty must be abolished
Truly, death penalty has failed to prove itself as deterrent to criminality. Even more it
deprives the criminal of any room for genuine reform or reparation for worse yet it is
not justice that heals but kills.

II. Sources

http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno7659.htm#.VYjqHVIm_IU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitayin_si..._Baby_Ama!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Echegaray

7
http://www.impactmagazine.net/v39n07/DEATH.htm

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 http://www.impactmagazine.net/v39n07/DEATH.htm

http://www.executedtoday.com/2009/05/17/1972-the-rapists-of-maggie-dela-riva/

(republic act no 7659 "an act to impose the death penalty on certain heinous
crimes, amending for that purpose the revise penal laws, other special penal laws)

www.Todeathpenalty.info.msu.edu

(Revised penal code of the philippines act. 3815)

DEATH PENALTY LAW - CHAN ROBLES VIRTUAL LAW LIBRARY.htm

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