EDITORIAL DEATH PENALTY - Kimberlie Anne S. Austria
Last March 2022, a new law to protect Filipino children from sexual violence was just signed. Under this law, those who engage in sexual activities with children below 16 that used to be 12 are liable for committing statutory rape. Along with this issue and the rising cases of heinous crimes the Philippines face, many citizens voice out for the death penalty to be back. For them, there is no justice until the criminal's life is taken away, as there's no amount of punishment that would suffice for the things they did. Capital punishment was abolished by Proclamation No. 1081 ("Proclamation of Amnesty and Public Pardon During the 21st Anniversary of the New Society," December 30, 1981) Page 13
issued by Manila-based President Corazon C. Aquino on her first day in office. The proclamation declared that "all prisoners currently under sentence of death shall henceforth be placed under detention." It also annulled all previous death sentences and restored to full political and civil rights "persons convicted under military courts for crimes against national security committed during the period of martial law." The death penalty was abolished for it is a cruel and inhumane punishment. Even with the safeguards built into legal procedures now, there are still many instances of mistaken identity or error in identifying the guilty party. The individual wrongly convicted of a serious crime does not deserve the THE EQUILIBRIUM
ultimate penalty; the state's responsibility to protect its citizens should be realized by incarceration for life instead of execution. The imposition of the death penalty in the Philippines is incompatible with the principle of human dignity, as guaranteed by our Constitution. The death penalty is also disrespectful to life, which is sacred and inviolable in Catholic Tradition. The death penalty violates a man's right to life which cannot be taken away even if someone has committed serious crimes because nobody has the right to kill another human being, no matter how severe those crimes are or how great the pain felt due to such crime.
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