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PUBLIC PERCEPTION ON THE RE-IMPOSITION OF DEATH PENALTY IN THE

PHILIPPINES: A MICROCOSM

A Thesis Presented To

The Faculty of Criminology Department

St. Nicolas College of Business and Technology

In Partial Fulfillment Of The

Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Science In Criminology

By:

Merry Poles Frasco Pamintuan

Marc Steven Gonzales Sombillo

Zaldy Mendoza Yutuc


Chapter I

The Problem and Its Setting

Introduction

Crimes that are punishable by death penalty are known to be as capital offenses.
Death penalty, also known as capital punishment is a legal process where the state sends
a death row inmate to execution as a punishment for a grave offense committed. Although
not all crimes are punishable by death, there are strong opinions shared by both pro-
death penalty and anti-death penalty supporters. In some countries, it is still practiced
while in the United States, it has been abolished in some and still observed in several
states like Saudi Arabia, China etc. Whether it should be carried out or not has been a
long standing argument between the two parties (Kronenwetter, 2001)

Death penalty is not considered as mandatory rather it is considered as


discretionary in all the capital offense. There are vast differences in the way people view
the death penalty. Some oppose it and some agree with it. There are many studies trying
to prove or disprove a point regarding the death penalty, some have regarded the death
as a deterrent, and some have regarded it as state sanction murder and not civilized.

The death penalty has been attributed to societies for hundreds of years. More
recently, as we become more civilized, the death penalty has been questioned to be the
right step toward justice. Thus the criminal continue committing a crime as they do not
have the fear of punishment, as they know that they will not be killed, for this death penalty
should be an option so that before breaking the law they may be afraid. (Ukessays, 2015)

There are a lot of methods or modes of execution of death penalty, it can be done
by Lethal Injection, Beheading, Firing squad, Electrocution , Hanging and etc. Death
penalty has pro’s and con’s to our country. It has a big impact to the people, the pros
are,it helps the government to cost less, before they provide the food, health care and
other needs to sustain the life of the prisoners, it is also a solution in prison system, it also
deters to others who are planning to commit a felonious act, it may also give a closure to
the relatives of the victims, Death penalty is a just punishment for crimes committed
against the rights to life, freedom and safety of victims, it can also prevent of another
killing incidents, death penalty is a retribution and also death penalty can decrease the
crime rate of one’s country. There are also cons for death penalty, these are, the innocent
people are wrongly executed, In relation to free will, some criminals are suffering from
mental illness or are having clouded judgment at the time of the crime, it is not a deterrent
because there is still crimes that are committed, killing is wrong because it violates the
human rights, and also death penalty is a form of revenge. (Goodman, 2017)

Globally, more than four out of five countries have either abolished the death
penalty or do not practice it, there is a firm trends towards the abolition, with progress in
all regions of the world. Member states representing a variety of legal systems, traditions,
cultures and religious backgrounds have taken a position in favour of abolition of death
penalty. Some states that opposed the abolition of death penalty in the recent past have
moved to abolish it; others have imposed a moratorium on its use.

The application of death penalty appears to confined to an ever narrowing minority


of countries. Those remaining states cite a number of reasons for retaining the death
penalty including what they see as its deterrent effect; it is consistent with public opinion;
that it is equally applied against all perpetrators; and that there are sufficient judicial
safeguards to ensure defendants are not wrongfully convicted (Johnson, 2015).

In ancient Babylon, Hammurabi’s code mandated the death penalty in 25 crimes


including sorcery and making false accusation of murder. Many laws of that time were
based on retaliation.Further, in ancient Greece, death was prescribed penalty for almost
every violation of law imaginable. One could find himself executed for simply being idle
and having stole salt. The earliest form of community punishment in Greece was stoning.
However, was only used to punish crimes affected the community (Lifton and Mitchell,
2017).

In America, the capital punishment was based on English law and was bought to
America during the seventeenth century by the first America Colonies (Bedau, 2017). The
first known execution in America occurred in 1622 in Virginia when Daniel Frank was
executed for theft. The first recorded death penalty are from the Massachusetts Bay
Colony in 1636. Nevertheless, according to (amnesty International, 2016), in 2015 “the
United States Carried out 28 execution, the lowest number since 1991, while the number
of death sentences imposed in the USA (52) was the lowest number since 1977. “New
Mexico and Nebraska abolished the death penalty in 2009 and 2015, respectively. The
repeal was not retroactive, however, inmates on death row in those states may still be
executed. Pennsylvania imposed a moratorium on executions in 2015. Maryland
abolished the death penalty in 2013. A year later, former governor, Martin O’Malley
commuted the death sentences of four prisoners awaiting execution (Del Carmen, 2002).

In Singapore the most independent country, it has also a strict enforce penal codes
and has the most severe penalties. It is not surprising that death penalty is used for the
serious crime that committed in their country. On 1990’s Singapore was known as the
country among other nation has a highest capital death sentence. But these days, death
penalty is not frequently used, even though Singapore is far from abolishing the death
penalty. In the year 2015 only one execution was reported, murder, drug-trafficking,
discharge of firearms, mutiny, and treason are some of the forms of crime in Singapore
that are punishable by death (Chen, 2012).

While in the Philippine setting, in 1946, murder, rape, and treason were grounds
for the death penalty. Until 1961, 51 were sentenced to death by the law. This number
soared high under the leadership of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. Under the Marcos
regime, drug trafficking was added to the list of crimes punishable by death. Electric chairs
were the primary instrument for execution during Marcos’ time (1965-1986), which were
replaced by firing squads in 1976. (Cruz, 2017)

In the year of 1987 constitution ,death penalty in the Philippines was first abolished,
Philippines became the first Asian country to abolish the death penalty by the year of
Corazon Aquino.

In 1993, a series of serious crimes, described as ‘heinous’ ensued in the early part
of the Fidel V. Ramos Administration. By virtue of Republic Act No. 7659 signed in
December 1993, the rising imposition of the death penalty was passed to address the
rising criminality. The death penalty law lists a total of 46 crimes punishable by death; 25
of these are death mandatory while 21 are death eligible. Republic Act No. 8177
mandates that a death sentence shall be carried out through lethal injection. With the
amendment of Republic Act No. 8353 (Anti-Rape Law of 1997) and Republic Act no. 9165
(Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), there were 52 capital offenses, 30 of
which are death mandatory and 22 are death eligible.

In February 1999, Leo Echegeray was first executed by lethal injection and was
followed by six other executions for various heinous crimes. President Joseph Estrada
carried out the capital punishment and put to death seven (7) death row convicts. ‘1999
was bumper year for executions which were intended to abate criminality. Instead, using
the same year as baseline, criminality increased by 15.3% as a total of 82,538. President
Estrada issued a moratorium on execution in observance of the ‘Jubilee year’. The
practice of not carrying out executions was then initiated and carried over to the
administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

On December 2003, President Arroyo announced the lifting of the facto


moratorium on execution. A rise in drug trafficking and kidnapping that victimized mainly
the Filipino Chinese community was cited as one reason to ‘sow fear into the hears of
criminals’. In the year of 2006,Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo secondly suspended death
penalty under Republic Act No. 9346 in 2006 (pcij.org, 2006).
`
On September 20, 2006, Philippines signed an agreement to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.The Optional Protocol commits its members to the
abolition of the death penalty within their borders, though Article 2.1. No reservation is
admissible to the present Protocol, except for a reservation made at the time of ratification
or accession that provides for the application of the death penalty in time of war pursuant
to a conviction for a most serious crime of a military nature committed during wartime.
(United Nations Treaty Collection, 2011)
During the campaign season of the 2016 national and local Elections, former and
current President Rodrigo Duterte vocally supported the reinstatement of death penalty
to aid him in his war against drugs.
In June 2016, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Capiz Representative
Fredenil Castro authored House Bill 01, calling for the reinstatement of death penalty via
lethal injection on heinous crimes. Specifically, the heinous crimes that punishable by
death are treason, piracy, bribery , parricide, murder, infanticide, rape, kidnapping, arson,
crimes related to drugs and etc. Similarly, Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao filed Senate Bill
185 proposing the return of death penalty against heinous crimes in October 2016. Other
politicians, like Senator Panfilo Lacson, also supported the return of death penalty by filing
bills for its reinstatement (Cruz, 2015).

A few months later in December, the House Justice Committee approved the bill
on a vote of 12-6, with one abstaining. However, further debates and actions were
deferred by the House of Representatives until early 2017. While many politicians appear
to support the reinstatement of death penalty, many have also stood ground against it.
Vice President Leni Robredo has been staunch on her opposition of death penalty, stating
that there has been no sufficient evidence nor study that presents death penalty as
effective in deterring crimes. Furthermore, she has been quoted as citing that the country
is a signatory to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, which prohibits the nation from reinstating death penalty (Cruz, 2015).

Now the Duterte’s administration has a campaign in bringing back the death
penalty for drug-related crimes that will clear major hurdles (Aljazeera,2017). “In the
Philippines, it’s really an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” , the total of people killed in
war on drugs since July 1, 2016 was 7,080 and 2,555 on suspected drug personalities
killed in police operations, as of January 31, 2017(Bueza, 2016).

Being a Christian country with over 93 percent of total population (Philippine Daily
Inquirer, 2012). Christian activist are against the punishment, based on Jesus teachings
they believe that it provide no support on death penalty. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of
Manila told worshipers on December 11, 2016 that God does not give up on sinners, and
neither should the Philippine people.“Every life has hope, there is hope for
transformation"(Catholic News Service, 2016).
The study is currently a social issue concerning legality of death penalty in the
country. Many different countries have their own usage in dealing death penalty but in the
Philippines presently this capital punishment is still an hot issue. This study is in time to
initiates perception and awareness among Filipino’s regarding death penalty and its
possible re-imposition in the country.
Rationale of the study

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the perception of the employees and
students St. Nicolas College of Business and Technology about the re-imposition of death
penalty in the Philippines . The researchers wanted to determine the opinions of the
public towards the re-imposition of death penalty in the Philippines. Being knowledgeable
about the perception of the public is very essential for us the researchers in order to know
how it affects the society if death penalty will be imposed again in the Philippines. Death
penalty is a social issue nowadays, it is important to study in order to know the perception
of the small group of people because it can serve as reference to the government and
public with regards to re-imposition of death penalty in the country.

Theoretical Framework

This study is supported and anchored on the Classical Theory. According to


Cesare Beccaria, in his Classical theory which was based on free will that people want to
achieve pleasure and avoid pain. Therefore, he concluded, crimes must provide some
pleasure to the criminal. To deter crime, one must administer pain in an appropriate
amount counterbalance the pleasure obtained from crime.

Death Penalty is retribution governing the concept of “an eye of an eye”. The
rationale is that, the individual have taken a life, then that individual’s life should be taken.
Thus, the Classical theory maintains that man is essentially a moral creature with absolute
free will to choose between good and evil and therefore stress is placed upon the criminal
himself, that man is responsible for his act.
Statement of the Problem

The study aims to determine the public perception regarding the re-imposition of
death penalty in the Philippines among the students and employees of St. Nicolas
College of Business and Technology.

Specifically the study aims to answers the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age;
1.2 Sex;
1.3 Socio-economic Status;
1.4 Religion;
1.5 Civil Status;
1.6 Educational Attainment;
1.7 Employees or Students?

2. What is the perception of the students and employees of St. Nicolas College of
Business and Technology about the re-imposition of death penalty in the Philippines?

3. What is the level of perception of the students and employees of St. Nicolas College of
Business and Technology with regard to the re-imposition of death penalty in relation to
the proposed heinous crimes with corresponding penalty of death proposed by the
congress?

4. How may the students and employees of St. Nicolas College of Business and
technology may differ their perception in the re-imposition of death penalty in the
Philippines?
Statement of hypothesis

There is no significant difference about the respondent’s perception regarding to


the re-imposition of death penalty Philippines.

Significance of the study

This study will benefited to the following; researchers, community, government,


and future researchers. It is significance to the researchers in order to know the public
perception towards the re-imposition of death penalty in the Philippines. This study can
also use as a basis and reference for the community, future researchers and government
in reimposing the death penalty in our country.

Scope and limitation of the study

The study ascertain the perception on re-imposition of Death penalty in the


Philippines which covers respondent’s opinions regarding to death penalty, this study will
be conducted in St. Nicolas College of Business and Technology located at City of San
Fernando Pampanga. We chose St. Nicolas College of Business and Technology
because it is economical and accessible to us the researchers, the respondents will be
the Filipino Citizens, particularly, the employees and students of St. Nicolas College of
Business and Technology . The study will be conducted from June 2018 to October 2018.

Conceptual Framework

Input Process

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