RA 7659 (Death Penalty Law)

Death Penalty is a Capital Punishment

There are three (3) limitations on the re-imposition of the death penalty, pursuant to
Section 19 (1), Article III of the 1987 Constitution:
1. Congress define or describe what is meant by heinous crimes;
The definition of Heinous crimes is found in the 2nd Paragraph of the Preamble of RA
7659, which states that:
WHEREAS, the crimes punishable by death under this Act are heinous for
being grievous, odious and hateful offenses and which, by reason of their
inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity are
repugnant and outrageous to the common standards and norms of
decency and morality in a just, civilized and ordered society;
2. Congress specify and penalize by death, only crimes that qualify as heinous in
accordance with the definition or description set in the death penalty bill and/or
designate crimes punishable by reclusion perpetua to death in which latter case, death
can only be imposed upon the attendance of circumstances duly proven in court that
characterize the crime to be heinous in accordance with the definition or description set
in the death penalty bill; and
3. Congress, in enacting this death penalty bill, be singularly motivated by "compelling
reasons involving heinous crimes."
The compelling reasons of the Congress in the reimposition of death penalty is
stated in the 4th Paragraph of the Preamble of RA 7659, which states that:
WHEREAS, the Congress, in the interest of justice, public order and the rule of
law, and the need to rationalize and harmonize the penal sanctions for
heinous crimes, finds compelling reasons to impose the death penalty for
said crimes;
This phrase according to the legislative body, means that the death penalty was
not completely abolished by the 1987 Constitution. Rather, it merely suspended
and gave Congress the discretion to review it at a favorable time.
So that during the Administration of Ramos, Congress found compelling reasons to reimpose death penalty to address the rising criminality and incidence of heinous crimes.
In December 1993, RA 7659 restoring the death penalty was signed into law. The law makers
argued that the deteriorating crime situation was a compelling reason for its reimposition. The main reason given was that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime.
This RA 7659, otherwise known as The Death Penalty Law took effect on December 31,
1993.

Two Types of Crimes under this law:

1. crimes penalized by reclusion perpetua to death
All the crimes penalized by reclusion perpetua to death are not capital
crimes per se, the uniform penalty for all of them being not mandatory death
but the flexible penalty of reclusion perpetua to death.
Example: Treason (Sec. 2, RA 7659)
Art. 114, RPC
Any Filipino citizen who levies war against the Philippines or adheres to
her enemies giving them aid or comfort within the Philippines or
elsewhere, shall be punished by reclusion perpetua to death and shall
pay a fine not to exceed 100,000 pesos.
RA 7659 has the following amendments:
No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two
witnesses at least to the same overt act or on confession of the
accused in open court. Likewise, an alien, residing in the Philippines,
who commits acts of treason as defined in paragraph 1 of this Article
shall be punished by reclusion temporal to death and shall pay a fine
not to exceed 100,000 pesos.
2. crimes penalized by mandatory capital punishment upon the attendance of
certain specified qualifying circumstances:
Example: Qualified bribery (Sec. 4, RA 7659)
Art. 211-A of the RPC
If any public officer is entrusted with law enforcement and he refrains
from arresting or prosecuting an offender who has committed a crime
punishable by reclusion perpetua and/or death in consideration of
any offer, promise, gift or present, he shall suffer the penalty for the
offense which was not prosecuted.
RA 7659 added that If it is the public officer who asks or demands such gift
or present, he shall suffer the penalty of death."
Aside from restoring the death penalty for certain heinous crimes, Republic Act No. 7659
made innovations on the provisions of the Revised Penal Code regarding the imposition
of the death penalty:
1. Article 47 has been reworded to expressly include among the instances where the
death penalty shall not be imposed against an offender who is below 18 years old at
the time of the commission of the offense. But even without this amendment, the
death penalty may not be meted out on an offender who was below 18 years of age
at the time of the commission of the crime because Article 68, RPC lowers the

imposable penalty upon such offenders by at least one degree than that prescribed
for the crime. (Sec. 22)
2. In the matter of executing the death penalty, Article 81 has been amended and, thus,
directs that the manner of putting the convict to death by electrocution shall be
changed to gas poisoning as soon as the facilities are provided, and the sentence
shall be carried out not later than one year after the finality of judgment. (Sec. 24)
3. The original provision of Article 83 about the suspension of the execution of the death
penalty for three years if the convict was a woman, has been deleted and instead,
limits such suspension to last while the woman was pregnant and within one year after
delivery. (Sec. 25)
The 1987 Constitution suspended the death penalty. Guided by the Constitution the
state did not execute anyone on death row during the term of President Cory Aquino.
But, in the absence of an enabling law to make the Constitutional ban on state
executions, President Fidel Ramos restored the death penalty in 1993.
Senate Bill No. 2080 entitled An Act Imposing Death Penalty in the Philippines
introduced by Senator Vicente C. Sotto III and still pending in the committee.