Death Penalty in Philippines Essay

During Spanish colonial rule, the intimately common method of implementations were shooting by the firing squad (especially for betrayal/military crimes, usually reserved for independence fighters) and garrotte (a notable subject area would be the Gomburza). A prominent example is the agriculturals subject area hero, Jose Rizal, who was executed by firing squad on the morning of celestial latitude 30, 1896. In 1926, the electric conduce was introduced, by the United States colonial government. This do the Philippines the only sphere besides the United States to employ this method. The last colonial-era execution took place nether Governor-General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. in February 1932. There were no executions under Manuel L. Quezon, the Commonwealths first chairman.2 1946 to 1986The jacket cr give crimes after regaining undecomposed independence were murder, rape and treason. noable illustrations includes Julio Gullien, executed on for attempting to assassinate chai rwoman Manuel Roxas, or Marcial foil Ama, electrocuted at the age of 16 on October 4, 1961. Baby Ama became a subject of a famous 1976 film Bitayin Si mishandle Ama. Totally, 51 people were electrocuted until 1961. Another famous wipeout punishment case was of former powerful Governor of Negros Occidental Rafael Lacson and 22 of his allies, condemded to die in August 1954 for murder of a semipolitical opponent.6 Ultimately, Lacson was never executed. Executions number climbed under President Ferdinand Marcos. Ironically, Marcos himself was sentenced to termination in 1939 for murder of his fathers political opponent, although he was accquited during appeal. A well-publicised triple execution took place in whitethorn 1972, when Jaime Jos, Basilio Pineda, and Edgardo Aquino were electrocuted for the 1967 abduction and gang-rape of the young actress Maggie dela Riva. Under the Marcos regime, drug trafficking also became punishable with death by firing squad. A notable execution wa s that of drug trafficker Lim Seng, whose death in December 1972 was broadcast on national television. Future President and then Chief of the Philippine Constabulary, GeneralFidel V. Ramos, was present at the scene. The electric chair was employ until 1976, when execution by firing squad eventually replaced it as the sole method of execution. During the Marcos regime, however, countless more people were summarilyexecuted, tortured, or simply disappeared for confrontation to his rule. neutrality is disputed After Marcos was deposed in 1986, the newly-drafted makeup limited the application of the death penalty to a certain a few(prenominal) crimes. This in effect meant that it was totally abolished, making the Philippines the first Asian country to do so. Reinstatement and moratoriumPresident 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 capita l punishment by defining heinous crimes as everything from murder to thievery a car. This law provided the use of the electric chair until the gas put up (chosen by the government to replace electrocution) could be installed. The first execution by lethal injection took place under Ramos successor, Joseph Estrada, following on a personal appeal by his spiritual advisor, Bishop Teodoro Bacani. Estrada called a moratorium in 2000 to sinlessness the bimillenial anniversary of Jesus birth. Executions were resumed a year later. Estradas own successor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was a vocal opponent and also approved a moratorium, nevertheless later permitted executions and denied pardons. Second abolitionOn 15 April 2006, the sentences of 1,230 death course of study inmates were commuted to life imprisonment, in what Amnesty International believes to be the largest ever commutation of death sentences Capital punishment was again abolished via Republic Act No. 9346, which was signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on 24 June 2006. The bill followed a vote held in Congress earlier that month which overwhelmingly back up the abolition of the practice . The penalties of life imprisonmentand reclusion perpetua (indeterminate sentence, 30-year minimum) replaced the death penalty. Critics of Arroyos initiative called it a political move meant to placate the Roman Catholic Church, some sectors of which were progressively vocal in their opposition to her rule. AftermathPresident Arroyo controversially pardoned many a(prenominal) prisoners during her presidency, including a 2009 pardon for all remaining felons convicted forthe 1983 assassination of former Senator and opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. MethodsThe Philippines was the only country aside from the United States that used the electric chair. Until its first abolition in 1987, the country reverted to using death by firing squad. After re-introduction of the death penalty in 1993, the country switched t o lethal injection as its sole method of execution.