Samantha G.

Gonzales Legal Counseling

Adamson University July 25, 2019

Death Penalty Reflection

I was 10 years old when former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

suspended the death penalty in 2006. I was not aware of my surroundings

at that time and does not realize its impact. I grew up with my parents

telling me about the actress Maggie Dela Riva and how all of her

perpetrators were punished with death even if they came from rich and

influential families. They told me how justice was served and how everyone

was so scared of committing a crime at that time. Because of this, I’ve

always been in favor of the death penalty without any reservation.

However, my stand began to waver once I became a law student

because of two reasons. First, a lawyer’s competency plays a huge part in

determining the outcome of a case. After attending several legal aid

activities, I realized that most lawyers, especially PAO lawyers, handle too

many cases. Due to this, they tend to lose track of their cases. Also, just to

lessen their load, they’d rather settle the case than be bothered by it. I have

also read cases about Judges being bribed to turn the case in their favor. If

the death penalty will be imposed, the ones who will be greatly affected by

it will be the poor. According to a survey conducted by Free Legal

Assistance Group in 2004, 2/3 of the death row inmates had a monthly

wage or below minimum wage. Meanwhile, less than 1% of death row

inmates earned a monthly wage of more than P50,000.

Second, a country that has death penalty proves that it does not have

any deterrent effect. According to a data coming from PNP, the crime rate

had plummeted in the years when there is no death penalty. Also, it was
Samantha G. Gonzales Legal Counseling
Adamson University July 25, 2019

observed that in the year 1999, no drop in the index crime was observed. It

even actually rose by 8.8% from 1999 to 2002.

In conclusion, the government should not be hasty in bringing back

the death penalty. There are a lot of factors to be considered. The

government should first focus on how to improve the lives of the Filipinos

since most crimes are done due to poverty. There is a reason why more

than two-thirds of the world’s states have abolished death penalty. No

evidence was presented to prove the connection between the imposition of

death penalty and lower crime rates in any country. The Philippines has a

lot of problems to address, the death penalty should be the last in their list.