support it. We wanted to know on what grounds would they continue to support this measure as this is vital in informing the campaign against capital punishment in the Philippines. This paper thus brings to the fore the complexity of public opinion wherein the Filipino public wavers their support for the death penalty when presented with options and alternatives to the death penalty. The government’s argument that the public wants the death penalty is therefore flawed if its assumption is only based on perceived support and close-ended survey results. The lack of alternatives gives the impression that there are no other options available, which would have an impact in the accuracy of the survey being undertaken. This paper adds to the growing literature and policy advisories providing empirical evidence that support of the public for the death penalty is not as strong as what the government claims. With the information gathered from the survey and the comprehensive analysis of its results, we would be able to craft policy recommendations that would retain the abolition of the death penalty and halt its reintroduction to the Philippine penal system. We extend our gratitude to the Australian National University and Dr. Imelda Deinla and Dr. Mai Sato for their valuable advice and assistance in this endeavor. The Commission on Human Rights has always maintained that we do not want any crime to go unpunished. What is a deterrent to crime is a functional, unbiased, efficient justice system that guarantees certainty of punishment for perpetrators through due process and rule of law, together with broad public confidence. We are working towards this goal. Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines iii