In Defense of the Right to Life: Analyzing Factors Affecting Filipino Opinion About Death Penalty in Asian countries in general and the Philippines in particular.65 This paper and the 2018 Nationwide Survey dispel that assertion, as well as several research done in developing and developed countries in Asia and Africa. 66 Based on the findings, this paper puts forward the following recommendations to the Philippine government: 1. Abandon any proposed legislation that calls for reinstatement of the death penalty. Uphold its commitment to the abolition of the death penalty and honor its obligations under the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and relevant international human rights treaties and standards. 2. Assess the impact of reinstating the death penalty, beyond close-ended public opinion surveys. In citing public opinion as one of the main reasons to reinstate the death penalty, the Government has failed to consider that the public is not completely aware of the real facts about the death penalty. One of the findings of this paper shows that Filipinos who support the death penalty do so not based on their knowledge, but rather, because it gives them the feeling of safety. Reinstating the death penalty based on the wrong premise will result to injustice. 3. Focus on strengthening methods on crime investigation such as application of reliable scientific evidence, forensic techniques, DNA testing, efficient case documentation and sound judgment of facts. Hone the skills of the police and investigators to gather and handle data and information in ways that will materially enhance the reliability of all evidence presented in prosecutions. Train prosecutors to ensure no form of prosecutorial misconduct. All this will help ensure that those who commit crimes are caught and held accountable. It has been demonstrated time and again, that a fair, professional and competent judicial system provides better overall results than one endemic with corruption, incompetence or lack of resources. 4. Collect and present reliable disaggregated data on crime statistics, prosecution of cases and other relevant quantitative and qualitative data on the criminal justice system and penal reform. Another concern that this paper has found is that the Government does not have disaggregated data on the death penalty, and how it was implemented. The absence of reliable information makes it difficult and problematic for the Government to determine whether death penalty was even a sound punishment of the criminal justice system when it was still being implemented in the country. Collection and documentation of proper data should be prioritized in the measures by the Government to assess the efficiency and effectivity of the criminal justice system. House of Representatives of the Philippines, Regular Meeting of the Committee on Justice on the Bills Imposing the Death Penalty for Heinous Crimes, 05 August 2020, available at https://www.facebook.com/HouseofRepsPH/videos/1141481429568615/ (Last accessed 03 September 2020). 66 Cornell Law School, Public Opinion on the Death Penalty, available at https://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/publication/ public- opinion-on-the-death-penalty/public-opinion-on-the-death-penalty-html/ (Last accessed 03 September 2020). 65 20