MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is once again pushing for the revival of death penalty even if the country is barred by an international agreement from reintroducing capital punishment.
The Philippines is a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which explicitly prohibits state parties from carrying out executions within their jurisdictions.
This, however, is not deterring lawmakers like Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Surigao del Norte) from pushing for the reimposition of the death penalty for heinous crimes, with him saying that the will of the majority trumps any mandate imposed by international organizations.
“If there is a strong sentiment that the Philippines would want a restoration of death penalty for the capital crimes or the heinous crimes committed, then no international organization can stop us from implementing such,” Barbers said Tuesday in a news conference.
He added that he will stand by the democratic process and whatever the majority approves.
International law expert William Schabas said in a 2019 speech that reviving death penalty would mean that the Philippines will no longer be able to enter future international treaties as it would earn a global reputation as a country unable to abide by its word.
The last time that the Philippines exited an international agreement was when former President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew the country from the Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court after its prosecutor initiated a preliminary examination into the alleged crimes against humanity that occurred during the course of the “drug war.”
But unlike the Rome Statute, the ICCPR and its Second Optional Protocol do not have withdrawal clauses, effectively binding the Philippines not to carry out executions permanently.
If the Philippines goes ahead with its death penalty measure, it would be the first country after North Korea to openly challenge a global treaty and would be known worldwide as an international outlaw, Schabas said.
Despite this prospect hanging over the country, the House of Representatives in 2017 still passed death penalty for drug-related crimes. The Senate, however, did not pass the proposal.
Aside from Barbers, Reps. Eric Go Yap (Benguet), Paolo Duterte (Davao City) and Edvic Yap (ACT-CIS party-list) have also filed a bill reviving death penalty for heinous crimes, while Sen. Ronald dela Rosa filed a bill reimposing capital punishment for large-scale illegal drug trafficking.