Most Pinoys reject death penalty for illegal drugs-related crimes —SWS

Majority of Filipinos oppose death penalty for specific crimes related to illegal drugs, pollster Social Weather Stations' survey conducted for the Commission on Human Rights shows.

The National Survey on Public Perception on the Death Penalty, conducted from March 22 to 27 —the result of which was published Thursday—shows that only three in every 10 Filipinos demand death penalty for:

• importation of illegal drugs,
• maintenance of drug dens,
• manufacture of illegal drugs,
• murder under the influence of drugs,
• rape under the influence of drugs,
• sale of illegal drugs, and
• working in drug dens.

SWS said the survey, which used face-to-face interviews of 2,000 respondents aged 15 and above, is the first in the Philippines to explore thought processes and disentangle layers of perceptions about the death penalty.

“For six out of seven specific serious crimes related to illegal drugs, 33 percent or less demand the death penalty,” SWS said in its report.

It said the only exception is the crime of rape under the influence of drugs, for which 47 percent (still a minority) think that capital punishment should apply.

“The strongest demand for the death penalty is at 47 percent, for rape under the influence of drugs.  For the other six crimes, the demand for the death penalty is from 22 percent to 33 percent,” it said.

Life imprisonment most preferred 

Majority of Filipinos prefer life imprisonment for crimes related to illegal drugs, the survey shows.

“For the said six crimes, from 51 percent to 55 percent instead prefer life imprisonment, and 15 percent to 24 percent prefer imprisonment for 20 years or 40 years,” the report said.

It said the demand for imprisonment, instead of death, is over 70 percent for those found guilty of working in drug dens (78 percent), sale of illegal drugs (76 percent), and maintenance of drug dens (73 percent).

Meanwhile, for murder under the influence of drugs, 69 percent of respondents demand imprisonment; 68 percent for importation of illegal drugs, and 66 percent for manufacture of illegal drugs.

The report said the demand for imprisonment as a punishment for those guilty of rape under the influence of drugs is 53 percent.

However, the same survey also showed that 59 percent of Filipinos are in favor of restoring the death penalty for those convicted of heinous crimes but 68 percent believe courts could hand out wrongful sentences. 

SWS said the survey which tapped 400 respondents each in National Capital Region, North and Central Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao has a sampling error margins of ±2.2 percent at the national level, and ±5 percent in each study area.

It said the survey questions were arrived at through collaboration of SWS survey specialists with CHR subject matter specialists. —Amita Legaspi/LBG, GMA News