MUYRONG, JOHN DENVER S.

G11-01ANM
READING AND WRITING MTH 7:30 –9:00AM

POSITION PAPER
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The beauty within always have a dark side. The Philippines known for its beauty also
have a dark side where criminality is an ongoing problem. Crime is present in many various
forms in the Philippines and it lead to precautionary measure in the past. Death Penalty was
implemented for the purpose of deterrence to crime. This led to people taking sides on the
effectiveness of Death Penalty on handling criminal offense.

Death Penalty is an unethical, inhumane, degrading punishment of criminality to

serving justice in the Philippines.

Death Penalty is the sentence of death imposed by courts as punishment for a crime.
It is a very controversial and debatable topic in the Philippines. It dates back during Spanish
Colonization where independence fighters were commonly executed for treason. It became
legal after gaining Independence from American sovereignty and it increased in use during
the leadership of Ferdinand Marcos where more people were executed and tortured for
opposition to his rule. It was abolished during Cory Aquino’s time due to the newly drafted
1987 Constitution and was restored as Republic Act. No.7659 which is an act to impose
Death Penalty on certain Heinous Crimes, amending for that purpose the revised penal laws,
as amended, other special penal laws, and other purposes, during Fidel Ramos’ Presidency.
It was suspended in 2006 by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo by Republic Act No.934 which is an
act on prohibiting the imposition of Death Penalty in the Philippines.

The implementation of Death Penalty was made to decrease crime rate in the
Philippines with the purpose of putting fear to those will do criminal offense. An article states
in 2019 that President Rodrigo Duterte pushes for the return of death penalty for drug crimes
and plunder which are one of the biggest issue in the Philippines as of now. A study in 2009
states that 88% of criminologists do not believe Death Penalty as an effective deterrence, in
fact, some criminologists maintain that death penalty has the opposite effect and may
increase the likelihood of more murder. An article states that the “War on Drugs” carried out
by President Duterte has led to over 12,000 Filipino deaths. Human Rights Watch research has
found that the police are falsifying evidence to justify the unlawful killings. Based on an
article this caused a widespread protest against the President’s Drug War to express their
opposition.

The issue of Death Penalty is often disputed by many, one side claims it is an
effective deterrence and is fair to the justice system. The other side claims that It is unethical
because taking a life in punishment for murder is not justice but vengeance. There is also a
potential of executing an innocent man through absolute judgment. The contrasting
viewpoints of people will always be continuous especially to controversial and debatable
issues such as Death Penalty.

To summarize, Death Penalty is not the ethical way of dealing with criminality in the
country. It has a long history in the Philippines for the purpose of deterring crime in the
country. Many studies have claimed that it is not the precise method of deterring crime and
may lead to more criminality and the risk of killing an innocent through absolute judgment. It
is a controversial and debatable issue that led to many people having their own outlook on
the matter.

The Philippines having a Judicial System that is corrupt and decidedly anti-poverty
should think twice and conduct more research before implementing a risky method of
punishment. Cutting the lifeline of a Person cannot be reversed. Implementing a Risky
Deterrence without the proper knowledge of its effect could increase violence rather than
decreasing it.

The only possible solution to this issue is alternatives. Taking a life of a person for a
criminal offense is not morally justifiable. A Capital Punishment such as Death Penalty is risky
and takes a lot of process. One solution is Reclusión Perpetua or Permanent Imprisonment
that is currently used by the country to replace Death Penalty. It is an effective yet morally
justifiable method in dealing with offenders at the same time protecting society without a risk
of life to be taken away.
Sources and References:

https://www.dummies.com/education/politics-government/what-is-the-death-penalty/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/capital-punishment
https://thelasallian.com/2017/02/05/revisiting-the-death-penalty/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_Philippines
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1993/12/13/republic-act-no-7659/
https://www.newswise.com/articles/bioethicist-the-ethics-of-the-death-penalty-are-clear-it-s-
wrong
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/study-88-of-criminologists-do-not-believe-the-death-
penalty-is-an-effective-deterrent
https://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/c/about/arguments/argument1b.htm
https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/southeast-asia/philippines/crime-in-the-
philippines
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/death-penalty-your-questions-
answered/
https://www.interaksyon.com/politics-issues/2019/03/13/145672/evidence-shows-death-
penalty-does-not-deter-crime-yet-politicians-still-call-for-it/
https://www.amnesty.org.au/5-reasons-abolish-death-penalty/
https://www.newswise.com/articles/bioethicist-the-ethics-of-the-death-penalty-are-clear-it-s-
wrong
https://www.amnesty.org.au/5-reasons-some-people-think-the-world-needs-the-death-
penalty/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/thousands-protest-deadly-drug-war-philippines-
180224084450606.html
https://www.rappler.com/nation/236024-duterte-pushes-return-death-penalty-drug-crimes-
plunder-sona-2019