In an interview at the 65th Founding Anniversary of the Liberal Party at Club Filipino in San Juan City, the President expressed concern over the reimplementation of the capital punishment, saying that in the present judicial system, suspects who do not have the ability to secure the services of competent lawyers are prone to be wrongly convicted.

“I will have to study that, and I don’t know where the calls are emanating from but iyong essence nito, our judicial system, as you know, is not perfect,” the President said.

The Chief Executive said that death penalty can only be fully applied in a perfectly-existing judicial system.

For the past two decades the President had many discussions regarding the issue, including that with his mother, the late former President Corazon C. Aquino.

“I had so many discussions from way back, siguro close to two decades, and including discussions with my mother in that aspect. At the end of the day, I used to support death penalty. But I really witnessed also justice that was not perfect, so I have to change my position that since we cannot turn back the clock if we execute somebody, then we shouldn’t, in the off chance that we might render that penalty to somebody who was not guilty,” the President noted.

Capital punishment in the Philippines was abolished on June 24, 2006, the second time since 1987.

Since it was reintroduced in 1993, seven people have been executed. Abolition of the death penalty has generally occurred in correlation with increasing democratization in nation-states around the world.

As of 2005, a majority of states (122) were abolitionist, and a minority (73) retained the death penalty.

Manila Bulletin