Death penalty proves useful

The murder case against Joel Courtney demonstrates why it's useful to have the death penalty on the

Oregon books even if it is rarely carried out.

The defendant, who now has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder for killing young Brooke Wilberger in

2004, had steadfastly refused to lead authorities to where he had left the body.

A Benton County grand jury charged him with aggravated murder, and District Attorney John Haroldson

announced he would seek the death penalty. But all along, he held out the possibility that he would take

the death penalty off the table in return for Courtney pleading guilty and telling authorities where he

had left the body.

Plea negotiations along those lines finally proved successful, and on Monday Haroldson was able to

announce Courtney's plea, his sentencing to life without possibility of parole, and the recovery of

Brooke's remains.

An execution would have been fitting. But that turn of events would have been in the indefinite future

and might never have taken place.

The appeals likely would have run their course for 10 years or more. The Oregon judicial system has

shown no interest in bringing death penalty cases to a conclusion. We have 32 men on death row - one

since 1989 - and no executions are expected in the foreseeable future.

Given the system, this is the better outcome. The Wilberger family gets closure on the horrible fate of

their daughter, and the killer faces day after day behind bars for as long as his life holds out.

DA Haroldson, a former Linn County deputy prosecutor before taking the same job in Benton County

and then winning election as the DA, deserves credit for handling this case. Under the circumstances he

did the right thing.

MANILA, Philippines – Crime and drugs are social ills that need to be stamped out, say Rodrigo Duterte
and Alan Peter Cayetano as they seek the two highest positions in the land in 2016.
Duterte used a peace and order platform before, when he first ran for Davao City mayor in 1988. He
later earned a reputation for his iron-fisted approach to criminality. Davao City now enjoys a state-of-
the-art crime response center and was named 9th safest city in the world in 2015.
On Tuesday, January 4, Cayetano announced that their tandem would push for an increase in police
salaries to P75,000 to P100,000 – 5 times the current wage of the lowest-ranking police officer and even
more than the salary of the PNP chief.
 Theirs is the only tandem that highlights the fight against criminality and drugs as a major part of their
platform.
Does the current state of crime and drugs in the Philippines warrant such attention? Rappler takes a
look at recent statistics.
Criminality
The number of reported crimes has been rising, while the ability of the police to solve crimes has
decreased.
The PNP however had previously explained that the spike in statistics did not necessarily represent a
worsening peace and order situation. One reason for it could be the underreporting by local police units
in previous years.
In 2015, for instance, the number of reported crimes soared by 46% in the first 5 months compared to
the same period the previous year, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The same trend was observed in 2014. By the end of the first 5 months of that year, crime incidents rose
by 18% compared to 2013 numbers.
2012 2013 2014

Total reported crimes 217,812 1,033,833 1,161,188

Index crimes 129,161 457,944 492,772

Crime rate (per 100k population) 226 1,053 1,004

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, 2015 report

For the entire 2014, the total number of reported crimes was 1.2 million, up from 1 million in 2013. In
2012, only 218,000 crimes were reported.
CRIME IN PH. In 2014, the National Bureau of Investigation conducts simultaneous raids on suspected
cybersex dens. Photo by Buena Bernal/Rappler
The number of index crimes (crimes against persons and properties) – like murder, rape, robbery, and
carnapping – has been rising.
Looking at a 3-year trend, incidents of such serious crimes rose by 300% from 2012 to 2014.
In 2012, 129,000 index crimes were reported. In 2013, they shot up to 458,000, while in 2014, the
number rose slightly to 493,000.
But crime rate, or the number of crime incidents reported per 100,000 population, has slightly gone
down.
In 2014, the crime rate was 1,004 – a bit less than the 1,053 rate in 2013.
But the crime rate for index crimes increased slightly – from 466 in 2013 to 493 in 2014.
Has the ability of law enforcers to solve crimes improved?
Crime solution efficiency, or the percentage of solved crimes out of reported crimes, was only 37% and
28% in 2012 and 2013, respectively, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
2004 2005 2012 2013

Crime solution efficiency (%) 89.86 88.79 36.67 28.56

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, 2015 report

This is alarmingly low compared to crime solution efficiency rates around a decade ago. In 2004 and
2005, 90% and 89% of reported crimes were solved in those years, respectively, according to a GMA
News Online report.
Some of the more shocking crimes in recent years include mall shootings, media killings, and rape
incidents of young girls and students. Cybersex dens in different parts of the country also proliferated.
Policemen have been arrested over crimes like running a secret prison in Laguna to torture inmates,
aiding in high-profile murders, and drug trafficking.
Drugs
Around one-fifth of barangays (or villages) in the Philippines have drug-related cases, according
to February 2015 data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Metro Manila is the region most affected by drugs with 92% of its barangays having drug-related cases.
Methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, is the most used illegal drug in the country, followed by
cannabis or marijuana.
In 2014, 89% of drug seizures involved shabu while 8.9% involved marijuana, according to PDEA.
Cocaine, ephedrine, and ecstasy constituted the rest of the confiscations.
'POOR MAN'S COCAINE'. A police officer lays out a package of suspected methamphetamine
hydrochloride (shabu) on November 14, 2012. File photo by Rolex Dela Peña/EPA
Back in 2012, The United Nations World Drug Report said the Philippines has the highest rate of shabu
use in East Asia.
It’s mostly ethnic Chinese syndicates that organize and finance the trafficking of shabu in the Philippines,
according to the US State department report on international drugs in 2012.
Because of its geographic location, the Philippines has become a major hub for the drug in Southeast
Asia. This has contributed to more incidents of Filipinos getting arrested in other countries for
transporting or selling shabu.
Shabu is usually brought into the country from Japan, China, and Korea but it is also grown domestically
in “meth labs.”
The drug problem was recognized even by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines when it
released a pastoral letter last July 2015 focusing on drug addiction in the country.
Entitled “Addiction, freedom, and disciples,” the letter pointed out how shabu or the “poor man’s
cocaine” has become “daringly ubiquitous, oftentimes peddled openly in parks, bars, and street
corners.”
The Aquino administration has made some progress in tackling the shabu problem. In 2012, government
reported the decline of industrial-size meth labs.
The US State department recognized the government’s efforts, saying they led to a 45% increase in anti-
drug operations. – Rappler.com
Do you feel strongly about the state of crime and drugs in the Philippines? How do you think government
should deal with the situation? Let us know by commenting below.
Crime scene image from Shutterstock
Drug syringe image from Shutterstock
1. three out of five Filipinos favor the reimposition of death penalty for drug-related crimes, according to
a latest survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The survey, conducted from March 25 to 28, found that 61 percent of respondents “strongly or
somewhat approve” of the proposal to revive capital punishment in the country, while 23 percent
“somewhat or strongly disapprove.” The latest figures yielded a “good” +38 net approval of the
proposed legislation.
In March, the House of Representatives voted to pass House Bill 4727 with 217 “yes” votes. Senators are
divided on the fate of the death penalty bill in the upper chamber, where it is not a priority measure.
The same survey noted that 52 percent of respondents have “either only a little or almost no
knowledge” about the death penalty bill, 13 percent have “extensive knowledge” about the proposal,
while 35 percent said they had “partial but sufficient knowledge” about it.
SWS said the net approval of the death penalty bill was highest in Metro Manila at a “very good” +58,
followed by Balance Luzon at a “very good” +39, Mindanao at a “very good” +35, and Visayas at a
“moderate” +25.
Approval rating was also highest among class ABC respondents at a “very good” +62, followed by class D
at a “good” +40, and class E at a “moderate” +21.
SWS classifies net satisfaction ratings of +70 and above as “excellent”; +50 to +69 as “very good”; +30 to
+49 as “good”; +10 to +29 as “moderate”; +9 to -9 as “neutral”; -10 to -29 as “poor”; -30 to -49 as “bad”;
-50 to -69 as “very bad”; and -70 and below as “execrable.”
The pollster also noted that the net approval was highest among respondents with “extensive” or
“partial but sufficient” knowledge on the proposed measure, which was recorded in Metro Manila, with
a “very good” +59 rating. The proportion of those with “little or no knowledge at all” about the death
penalty bill was highest in Mindanao at 63 percent and among class E respondents at 65 percent.
The survey, conducted through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adult respondents, had an error margin
of ±3% for national percentages. It was first published in BusinessWorld.
President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly called for the reimposition of the death penalty as a form of
“retribution” for victims of crimes.
The version approved by the lower house, will punish with death or life imprisonment the following
drug-related offenses: importation of dangerous drugs; sale, trading, administration, dispensation,
delivery, distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs; manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or
controlled precursors and essential chemicals; misappropriation, misapplication or failure to account for
confiscated, seized or surrendered dangerous drugs; and planting of evidence. IDL

2. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said his proposal to reimpose death penalty was not
just for crime prevention but also for retribution.
“Hindi iyan to deter. Whether you like to commit a crime or not, that’s not my business. Iyong death
penalty to me is the retribution. Magbayad ka sa ginawa mo sa buhay na ito,” Duterte said in a speech
during inauguration rites of Senator-elect Manny Pacquiao in Sarangani. He said death penalty as a
deterrence to commit crime “is one school of thought.” But he said he has a different view.
“The death penalty might be a deterrence to prevent or matakot siya to commit a crime but that is one
school of thought. The other school of thought is iyang death penalty hindi iyan pantakot,” Duterte said.
During the campaign period, Duterte has repeatedly said that would reimpose the death penalty. The
incoming President also wanted public hanging of convicted criminals.
Duterte has been criticized by some sectors particularly human rights group for calling the reimposition
of the death penalty. The Church has also opposed this move.