Capital punishment in the Philippines
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Capital punishment in the Philippines has a varied history and, on June 24, 2006, was abolished.
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[edit] Spanish Era until 1986
During Spanish colonial rule the most common method of executions were shooting by the firing squad (especially for treason/military crimes, commonly for independence fighters) and garrotte. A prominent example is the country's national hero, Jose Rizal. He was executed by firing squad on the morning of December 30, 1896 by the Spanish Government. [1].
In 1926, under then colonial administration of the United States, electric chair was introduced, which made Philippines the only country besides the U.S. to use electrocution. Electric chair from Manila prison was used until 1976.[citation needed]
The capital crimes after regaining full independence were i.e. murder, rape and treason. A well-publicized triple execution took place in May 1972, when Jaime Jose, Basilio Pineda and Edgardo Aquino were electrocuted for the 1967 abduction, and gang-rape of the young actress Maggie dela Riva. Use of firing squad was also allowed for some cases.
Under the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos drug trafficking became punishable to death by firing squad. A notable execution was that of the drug-trafficker Lim Seng, whose death was broadcast on national television. Shooting eventually became the only method in use after electrocutions were halted in 1976. During Marcos' rule, however, countless more people were unlawfully executed for resistance towards his regime.
After Marcos was deposed in 1986 the new drafted constitution prohibited death penalty except for some certain crimes. That meant, in effect, that it was abolished totally and made Philippines the first Asian country to do so.
[edit] Reinstatement under Ramos administration
President Fidel V. Ramos promised during his campaign that he would support the reintroduction of the death penalty in response to increasing crime rates. The new law, drafted by Ramos, restored capital punishment by defining "heinous crimes" as everything from murder to stealing a car.
This law provided the use of the electric chair until the gas chamber (method chosen by government to replace electrocution) could be installed. However, the electric chair was destroyed some time prior due to a typhoon, leaving only a blackened scorch mark. Some sources have said it had burnt out the last time it had been used.
The first execution by injection took place under Ramos' successor, Joseph Estrada. Because the Philippines is predominantly Catholic, Estrada called a moratorium in 2000 to honor the bimillenial anniversary of Jesus' birth. [2] Executions were resumed a year later.
Estrada's own successor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a vocal opponent, also approved a moratorium, but later permitted executions and denied clemencies.
[edit] Abolition under current administration
On April 15, 2006, the sentences of 1,230 death row inmates were commuted to life imprisonment, in what Amnesty International believes to be the "largest ever commutation of death sentences".[3] Capital punishment was re-abolished via Republic Act No. 9346, which was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on June 24, 2006. The bill followed a vote held in Congress earlier that same month which overwhelmingly supported the abolition of the practice.[4] The penalties of life imprisonment and reclusion perpetua (indeterminate sentence, 30-year minimum) replaced the death penalty.[5]
[edit] Methods
The Philippines were the only country except the United States which used the electric chair (1923-1976).
After reintroduction of the death penalty in the 1990s the country switched to lethal injection.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | Philippines 'restores' death penalty
- ^ Death Penalty News March 2000
- ^ Amnesty International, April 19 2006 Philippines: Largest ever commutation of death sentences
- ^ Jansen, Jamie. June 6, 2006 Philippines Congress votes to end capital punishment, The Jurist
- ^ Sun Star Cebu. 25 June, 2006. Arroyo kills death law
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3337273.stm
- Lamban, S. 2000. Death Penalty in the Philippines
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