Messagefrom the Chairperson Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon The Commission on HumanRights has madeits position on the imposition of the death penaltyvery clear: it has always been andwill always remainin staunch opposition to the use of capital punishment. This compendium of all relevant issuances of the Commission, beginning with Resolution No. A91-033passed by thefirst Commission in 1991 and ending with Advisory No. A2016-0002issued on November 2016, contains a comprehensive articulation of the Commission’s firm and consistent stance against the death penalty, which notonly violates the right to life, but which is also a form of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment which hasnoplacein anycivilized society. The timeliness and importance of this compilation of key issuances cannot be overemphasized. In fact, with a few minor alterations, one might even say that Resolution A9g1-033, passed by the first Commission twenty-six years ago, could have been written to addressthe current situation weare facing today, in which several of our legislators seem determinedto reintroduce a measurethat has long been discredited as an effective deterrent to crime by years of study and which is devoid of any redeeming value. In these documents, the Commission makesit clear that the proposed death penalty law is not only legally and morally untenable, but premised on a notion that is ultimately false. Both experience and extensively compiled data from all over the world have shown that the death penalty does not reduce criminality, including the incidence of drugrelated crimes. The law would notserve its intended purpose, andcould open the door to suchhorrorsas the wrongful sentencing andthe execution ofinnocent persons. Thisis notthefirst time the Commission hasstood in opposition to a government dead set on bringing back the death penalty against all appeals to reason, logic and even simple human decency. We have always been onein ourstance against this abhorrent and ultimately obsolete form ofjustice and, should the proposedreintroductionpassinto law, weshall remain steadfast. Wehopethat this compendiumofour issuancesrelated to the death penalty serves as an illuminating discussion on whythe death penalty has noplace in Philippine society, or any othersociety, for that matter.