POSITION PAPER ON HOUSEBILL NO. 566 (An Act Qualifying Salvaging or Extrajudicial Killing by Any Public Officer, Person in Authority or Agent of a Person in Authority as a Heinous Crime, Imposing the Death Penalty Therefor and for Other Purposes) The right to life is non-derogable that no Governmentcould strip itfrom any human being bylegislative enactment. To doso,is to unilaterally abrogate the State's bounden duty to uphold life of dignityforall. The Commission on Human Rights, an independent national humanrights institution created pursuant to the fundamental lawof the Philippines,’ is vested with the powers and functions to, among others, monitor the Philippine Government's compliance with international treaty obligations on humanrights.* As a national humanrights institution its role encompasses, among others, that of a Monitor or Watchdog of Government's actionsorinactions in relation to the State obligations to respect, protect and fulfill rights; Advocate of humanrights principles, norms, and standards,to include the principle of non-derogability of the right to life; and Adviser to the Governmenton humanrights concernsandissues, domestically and globally. In viewof the introduction of House Bill No. 566 by Representative Edno JosonIII, which raised serious humanrights concerns affecting the right to life, the Commission is submitting the foregoing position on the proposed legislative enactment: First, the proposed legislation — House Bill No. 566 — verily, seeks to resurrect the death penalty in Philippine jurisdiction, as evidenced from theBill's heading which reads, thus: "An Act Qualifying Salvaging or Extrajudicial Killing by Any Public Officer, Person in Authority or Agent of a Person in Authority as a Heinous Crime, Imposing the Death Penalty Therefor and for Other Purposes"; and as providedfor in Sections 3 and 5 thereof, which read: "SECTION3. Objectives. - This act endeavors to qualify the extrajudicial killing by anypublic officer, person in authority or agent of a person in authority as a heinous crime and to imposethe death penalty upon such crime." "SECTION 5. Punishable Act/Penalty.- The death penalty shall be imposed uponanypublic officer, person in authority or agent of a person in authority for any salvaging or extrajudicial killing as defined herein." Apparently, the factors behind the main intendment to revive the death penaltyvia the proposedlegislation, House Bill No. 566,are: (1) the spate ofkillings and appalling criminal acts resulting in the deaths of several personsin recent years, wherein most of the alleged perpetrators are agents of the State; and (2) to exact accountability from those mandated bythe fundamental lawof the landto protect the people. In particular, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the d Section 17, Article XII, 1987 Constitution ~ Section 18(7), Ibid 44