“We call on the 17th Philippines Congress to preserve the right to life, and to not bring back use of the death penalty as proposed in House Bill No. 1. We urge all members of the House of Representatives and Senate to uphold the right to life enshrined in the Philippines Constitution
1987 (the Constitution) and to strengthen compliance with the Philippines’ obligations not to impose the death penalty under section 19 of the Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) along with the Second Optional Protocol.
“We urge the Government of the Philippines to ensure proportionate sentencing of drug offences to protect the vulnerable, and invest in harm reduction approaches to protect the health and well-being of the Filipino people. By doing so, the Republic of the Philippines can retain its authority to protect overseas Filipino workers, including those who fall victim to disproportionately punitive laws and find themselves on death row abroad.”