--- description: The Philippines House of Representatives has approved a bill to reimpose the death penalty for drug-related crimes, among others title: Philippine House Votes to Reimpose the Death Penalty image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a59c6065e5c469a/6988bd7d0a4a2285f69cd35e/rts11s0h.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippine House Votes to Reimpose the Death Penalty for Drug-Related and Other Crimes by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:03 AM CUTPublished: Mar 8, 2017 2:48 AM CUT  Activists during a protest rally against the passing of the death penalty bill, in Quezon city, metro Manila, Philippines March 7, 2017. Activists during a protest rally against the passing of the death penalty bill, in Quezon city, metro Manila, Philippines March 7, 2017.Romeo Ranoco—Reuters by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:03 AM CUTPublished: Mar 8, 2017 2:48 AM CUT The Philippine House of Representatives has approved a bill to reimpose the death penalty for [drug-related crimes](http://time.com/4691516/philippines-duterte-drug-war-rap/ "undefined"), among others. On Tuesday, the lower house voted to approve the bill — in its third and final reading — with 217 voting yes and 54 no, the _Philippine Daily Inquirer_ [reports](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/878365/house-approves-death-penalty-bill-with-216-yes-votes "undefined"). However, the bill still requires senatorial approval before the President can sign it into law. Reinstating the death penalty was one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s major campaign promises. It also represents a major U-turn for the Philippines: in 2007, the country became the first in the region to ratify the [optional](http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/2ndOPCCPR.aspx "undefined") protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolishment of the death penalty. “Not only is capital punishment an inherently cruel punishment that is invariably imposed unfairly, but — contrary to what Duterte and others claim — it has not been shown to deter crime,” Carlos Conde, the Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch in Asia, [said in a statement](https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/03/07/philippines-alarming-death-penalty-u-turn "undefined"). “Adding a veneer of legality to the bloodbath in the Philippines will make stopping it even harder,” he added. **Read More:** [_Their Friend Was Killed in Duterte’s Brutal Drug War. So These Rappers Responded in Verse_](http://time.com/4691516/philippines-duterte-drug-war-rap/ "undefined") Duterte’s “war on drugs” has [killed more ](http://time.com/philippines-drug-war/ "undefined")than 8,000 people since its commencement on July 1, according to [local media](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/878595/drug-war-doesnt-spare-even-the-young "undefined"). In December, the President promised to execute “five or six” criminals [per day](http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/19/16/duterte-under-fire-for-planned-daily-executions "undefined") once the bill to restore the death penalty was reintroduced. Crimes punishable by death — to be carried out by hanging, firing squad or lethal injection — include the sale, trading, or transportation of drugs, and the maintenance of a drug den among others; drug possession is punishable by life imprisonment under the bill. \[[_PDI_](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/878365/house-approves-death-penalty-bill-with-216-yes-votes "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4694718/philippines-death-penalty-congress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4694718/philippines-death-penalty-congress/"},"headline":"Philippine House Votes to Reimpose the Death Penalty for Drug-Related and Other Crimes","datePublished":"2017-03-08T02:48:19.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T11:03:45.000Z","description":"Reinstating the death penalty was one of President Rodrigo Duterte's major campaign promises","url":"https://time.com/4694718/philippines-death-penalty-congress/","keywords":["Philippines","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a59c6065e5c469a/6988bd7d0a4a2285f69cd35e/rts11s0h.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5a59c6065e5c469a/6988bd7d0a4a2285f69cd35e/rts11s0h.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Activists holds placards during a protest rally against the passing of the death penalty bill, at the gate of House of the Representatives in Quezon city","caption":"Activists holds placards during a protest rally against the passing of the death penalty bill, at the gate of House of the Representatives in Quezon city","creditText":"Romeo Ranoco—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4694718/philippines-death-penalty-congress/","name":"Philippine House Votes to Reimpose the Death Penalty for Drug-Related and Other Crimes"}}]}] ```