fear, as fear of death comesasa strong natural discouragement. Theyare of theview that reviving the capital punishmentwill deter the commission of heinouscrimeslike murder, rape, kidnapping, child trafficking, and those involving violation of Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive DrugsAct of 2002), amongothers.It arguedthatthe penaltiesof reclusion perpetua and life imprisonment havenotbeenaneffective deterrent to the commission of these nefariousacts. . Anotherview is that the Constitution did not perse abolish the death penalty. It gave Congress the powerto impose death penalty for compelling reasonsinvolving heinouscrimes.*9 It further argued that while Republic Act No. 9346did prohibit the imposition of death penalty, Congressstill has the discretionto restoreit if it deems necessary.?° . Pursuantto its constitutional mandate to “monitor government's compliance withits internationaltreaty obligations on humanrights”and its power “to recommendto Congresseffective measures to promote humanrights”, the Commission on HumanRights strongly opposesthe re-imposition of the death penalty. Reinstating the capital punishmentwill certainly produce myriad of implications, both legal and moral, and will have a long term effect both in the domestic andinternational spheres. . We are notfully convinced thatrestoration of death penalty is the answerto therising criminality. Thereis no scientific study showing that death penalty deters people from committing crime. A recent survey of the most leading criminologists in the United States found that the overwhelming majority did not believe that the death penalty is proven deterrent to homicide. Eightyeight percent ofthe country's top criminologists do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicide, according to a newstudy published in the Journal ofCriminal Law and Criminology and authored by Professor Michael Radelet, Chair of the Departmentof Sociology at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Traci Lacock, also at Boulder. Similarly, 87% of the expert criminologists believe that abolition of the death penalty would not have anysignificant effect on murderrates. In addition, 75% of the respondents agree that "debates about the death penalty distract Congress andstate legislatures fromfocusing onreal solutions to crime problems.”23 . Consideringthatthereis no clear study whichreveals a material correlation betweendeath penalty and loweringof crimerate, it is safe to conclude that the capital punishmentis not a necessary deterrent to the commission of crime. In 1999, President Joseph Estradacarried out the capital punishment and putto death seven (7) death row convicts.*4 It was a bumperyearfor executions which were intendedto abate criminality. Instead, using the same Article Ill Section 19 (1), 1987 Constitution. HouseBill No. 16 Section 18 (7), Article 13, 1987 Constitution. Section 18 (6), Article 13, 1987 Constitution. See http://www/deathpenaltyinfo.org/study-88-criminologists-do-not-believe-death-penaltyeffective-deterrent (Accessed on 11 October 2016) ** “Teo Echagaray, convicted of repeatedly raping his step-daughter, was convicted on February 5, 1999. Eduardo Agbayani, convicted of raping his daughter, Eden, was the second manto die bylethalinjection on May 25, 1999. OnJuly 8, 1999, it was the turn of Dante Piandiong, Jesus Morallos, and Archie Bulanthe three were sentenced to die for robbery in which a Caloocan City policemanwaskilled. Two convicted rapists, Pablito Andan and Alex Bartolome were executed on October 26, 1999 and January 6, 2000, respectively." See: http://www.philstar.com/news-feature/235048/nbp-priest-death-can-be-beautiful (accessed on 3 November 2016) 59