Death Penalty in the Philippines

 The death penalty in the Philippines was abolished under Aquino in 1987 and reinstated by Ramos
in 1994 after a rise in crime, banned by Estrada in 2000 after strong lobbying by the church, the
European Union and human rights groups and brought back by Arroyo and then abolished by again
by her in 2006. According to informal surveys in the late 1990s, about 70 percent of all Filipinos said
they supported the death penalty, partly because they felt something had to be done about the
appalling crime rate. The Catholic Church is opposed to the death penalty. Nuns and priests have
held vigils outside of prisons of condemned prisoners.
 Executions in the Philippines were carried out by a lethal injection. Among the crimes that carried
the death penalty were economic plunder, murder, incest and kidnapping. In some cases minors
were put on death row because no one bothered to check their age and it was assumed they were
over 18.
 In the late 1990s seven executions were carried out by lethal injection. In June 1999, Leo
Echegaray, a 38-year-old house painter was executed with a lethel injection for raping his step
daughter five times when she was ten. It was their the first execution in the Philippines in 23 years.
In July, three Filipinos convicted of killing a policeman, were put to death. More were executed in
2000. In 2004, two kidnappers were supposed to be executed but the action was stopped by
Supreme Court order that said their cases should be reviewed.

Philippines Stops Death Penalty in 2006

 In June 2006, Philippines President Gloria Arroyo signed a law abolishing the death penalty just two
weeks after Congress passed the legislation. Sarah Toms of the BBC wrote: “As a result the
sentences of the 1,200 inmates on death row will be now be commuted to life imprisonment. Mrs
Arroyo said she welcomed the change but insists she is not softening her stance on fighting crime or
terrorism. Mrs Arroyo has been under pressure from the influential Roman Catholic church to scrap
capital punishment. The signing comes as she prepares to head to Rome for an audience with Pope
Benedict XVI. [Source: Sarah Toms, BBC, June 24, 2006]
 Earlier this month legislators in the Philippines, a mainly Catholic country, voted overwhelmingly to
abolish capital punishment. By Philippine standards the bill was pushed through in record time. In a
speech Mrs Arroyo said "we yield to the high moral imperative dictated by God to walk away from
capital punishment".
 The Philippines is plagued by violent crime with guns readily available and used in even minor
disputes. Supporters of capital punishment say they fear the repeal will result in more crime. The
repeal comes just days before Mrs Arroyo visits the Vatican for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.
Some analysts see the repeal of the death penalty as an attempt to win support from bishops for the
president's plan to move to a parliamentary system of government. Others say Mrs Arroyo is trying
to diffuse opposition from the church to the government's efforts to revive mining.

History of the Death Penalty in the Philippines

 According to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism: The imposition of the death penalty
in the country has had a repressive history. For the most part (from 1848 to 1987), it was used to
curtail the liberties, freedoms and rights of the Filipino people. In recent history, however, the death
penalty was reimposed as a knee-jerk response to what has largely been seen as rising criminality in
the country. The following, with help from the Mamamayang Tutol sa Bitay-Movement for
Restorative Justice, traces the death penalty’s historical roots and context in Philippine society:
[Source: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, pcij.org]
 Spanish Period (1521-1898): 1) Spanish colonizers brought with them medieval Europe’s penal
system, including executions. 2) Capital punishment during the early Spanish Period took various
forms including burning, decapitation, drowning, flaying, garrote, hanging, shooting, stabbing and
others. 3) Capital punishment was enshrined in the 1848 Spanish Codigo Penal and was only
imposed on locals who challenged the established authority of the colonizers. 4) Between 1840-
1857, recorded death sentences totaled 1,703 with 46 actual executions. 5) Filipinos who were
meted the death penalty include Magat Salamat (1587); the native clergies Gomez, Burgos and
Zamora who were garroted in 1872; and Dr. Jose Rizal, executed on December 30, 1896. All of
them are now enshrined as heroes.