Philippine push for death penalty return resurfaces

Philippine push for death penalty return resurfaces

At least three anti-crime three groups in the Philippines are backing fresh calls to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes and drug lords.

The Federation of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Campaign, together with the Anti-Crime Council of the Philippines and the Fight Drug Trade Movement, issued a joint statement on June 26 saying they would join efforts to push President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. into reinstating capital punishment, which was abolished in 2006 by former president Gloria Arroyo.

“Our group has reached the conclusion that we need the death penalty to curb rising heinous crimes in the Philippines. Capital punishment provides benefits to society such as instilling fear into criminals, especially in a country where discipline is wanting,” the groups said.

The call came after a recent survey revealed that more than 50 percent of the population believed the death penalty was effective in preventing heinous crimes such as murder, rape and the drug trade.

In March 2021, allies of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte sought to table a bill in Congress reintroducing the death penalty. The bill is yet to be debated and it is expected the new president will be called upon to push for its passage. Previous attempts to push a bill through Congress stalled. 

Logica, an academic group that sponsored the recent nationwide survey, said 54 percent of Filipinos believed the death penalty should be reinstated to solve the proliferation of heinous crimes.

“Perhaps the people want actual results in curbing the crime rate. They think this can be achieved through the death penalty”

“The majority in our country believe in the effectiveness of the death penalty in preventing heinous crimes because fear is needed to bring order in Philippine society,” Logica spokesman Andrew Carbonel told UCA News.

He said the survey included even the “most Catholic” regions like Cebu in the Visayas and the Bicol region in southern Luzon despite Catholic teaching being against capital punishment.

“Perhaps the people want actual results in curbing the crime rate. They think this can be achieved through the death penalty,” Carbonel added.

The Coalition against Anti-Death Penalty, however, said the results did not reflect the sentiment of the entire Filipino nation who were generally pro-life.

“Many of us are still pro-life although we should admit that President [Rodrigo] Duterte enjoyed a positive rating because he tried to deliver his promise to solve street crimes by targeting illegal drug suspects despite his alleged human rights violations,” coalition member Angie Duazon told UCA News.

She was referring to Duterte’s war on drugs in which thousands of drug suspects were murdered or shot by police, according to rights groups.

“An eye for an eye is still very much present in the mindset of many of our people. We need to exert more effort to let our people understand … and help them see the dignity of the human person”

Duazon said the coalition was not surprised by the survey results because they were an effect of Duterte’s high rating at the end of his term.

A March 30 to April 6 survey showed that 67.2 percent of 1,500 Filipinos surveyed either “approved” or “strongly approved” of Duterte’s performance as president over the previous 12 months, particularly the way he handled the country’s drug menace.

A Catholic bishop, meanwhile, said the Church’s anti-death penalty efforts must be directed to the masses who should appreciate more the principle of restorative justice.

Legazpi Bishop Bong Baylon, head of the Episcopal Commission on Prison Care, said clergymen should work harder to change the views of Filipinos on the death penalty.

“Sadly, many of our countrymen today believe that actual results are more important than values. Pragmatism is the new normal. Thus, if killing criminals would result in creating fear or curbing the country’s crime rate, then the death penalty must be a good policy,” Bishop Baylon told church-run Radyo Veritas.

“An eye for an eye is still very much present in the mindset of many of our people. We need to exert more effort to let our people understand … and help them see the dignity of the human person.”