Capital punishment in the Philippines
The Philippines, together with Cambodia, are the only Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states that have abolished the death penalty.
[15] During Spanish colonial rule, the most common methods of execution were death by firing squad (especially for treason/military crimes, usually reserved for independence fighters) and garrote.
[22] In 1926, the electric chair (Spanish: silla eléctrica; Filipino: silya eléktrika) was introduced by the United States' colonial Insular Government,[23] making the Philippines the only other country to employ this method.
Other notable cases includes Marciál "Baby" Ama, electrocuted at the age of 16 on October 4, 1961, for murders committed while in prison for lesser charges.
Execution numbers climbed under President Ferdinand Marcos, who himself was sentenced to death in 1939—for the murder of his father Mariano's political rival Julio Nalundasan—but was acquitted on appeal.
A controversial triple execution took place on May 17, 1972, when Jaime José, Basilio Pineda, and Edgardo Aquino were electrocuted for the 1967 abduction and gang-rape of young actress Maggie de la Riva.
[32] Under the Marcos regime, drug trafficking also became punishable by death by firing squad, such as in the case with Lim Seng, whose execution on January 15, 1973, was also ordered broadcast on national television.
[citation needed] After Marcos was deposed in 1986, the newly drafted 1987 Constitution prohibited the death penalty but allowed Congress to reinstate it "hereafter" for "heinous crimes"; making the Philippines the first Asian country to abolish capital punishment.
[citation needed] Following a personal appeal by his spiritual advisor, Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Estrada called for a moratorium in 2000 to honor the bimillennial anniversary of Christ's birth.
[41] Critics of Arroyo's initiative called it a political move meant to placate the Roman Catholic Church, some sectors of which were increasingly vocal in their opposition to her rule.
[45] President Arroyo pardoned many prisoners during her presidency, including a 2009 pardon for all remaining felons convicted for the 1983 assassination of former Senator and opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.[46] After Australian child rapist Peter Scully was arrested in February 2015, several Filipino prosecutors called for the death penalty to be reintroduced for violent sexual crimes.
[52] Duterte supported the restoration of the death penalty by hanging[53] for criminals involved in illegal drugs, gun-for-hire syndicates, and those who commit "heinous crimes" such as rape, robbery or car theft where the victim is murdered.
[53] Poe stated that capital punishment should apply to criminals convicted of "drugs and multiple crimes where involved people can no longer be rehabilitated.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, responded with an open letter addressed to the Philippine Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate saying, "International law does not permit a State that has ratified or acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to denounce it or withdraw from it."
