Where Is Death Penalty Legal? Duterte’s War On Drugs In Philippines Would Mean More Executions If Capital Punishment Is Reimposed

Philippines drug war — Residents behind a police line look at dead bodies of alleged drug dealers after a drug bust operation that turned into a gun fight in Manila, July 19, 2016. NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images

The Senate of the Philippines suspended a hearing into a bill for reinstating death penalty Tuesday after officials expressed concerns over an international treaty that bars the country from reimposing the capital punishment.

"We are suspending because there is a supervening event — the treaty of international convention on civil and political rights [of the United Nations Human Rights Office] — which states that all executions should not be continued, was ratified," said Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

However, Senate President Pro-Tempore Franklin Drilon said that the Philippines should first withdraw from the treaty before the discussing about reimposing the punishment, which was abolished on June 24, 2006, by the then-President Gloria Arroyo.

"We have ratified the treaty and we have concurred in ratification with the treaty. If you're saying we can withdraw from this, shouldn't we withdraw from the treaty first before we discuss any matter related to the reimposition of death penalty? So that we will not be in violation of international law?" Drilon said.

In December, Human Rights Watch urged the Philippines to not reinstate death penalty.

“The Philippine government should acknowledge the death penalty’s barbarity and reject any moves to reinstate it,” Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director, said in a statement at the time. “The failure of the death penalty as a crime deterrent is globally recognized and the government should maintain the prohibition on its use.”

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte — who assumed office last June — has launched the so-called war on drug dealers in the country. The possibility of the reimposition of death penalty has raised concerns that his government will be able to execute more people in the drug war.

Within six months of taking office, Duterte’s drug war killed nearly 6,000 people, according to a December report by Al Jazeera. Of those, 2,041 drug suspects were killed during police operations from July 1 to Dec. 6, while another 3,841 were reportedly killed by unidentified gunmen from July 1 to Nov. 30.

List of countries where death penalty is legal: