Parliamentary Questions

WRITTEN QUESTION

Submission: Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission

(22 October 2003)

E-3223/03EL

Answer from Mr. Patten

on behalf of the Commission

(3 December 2003)

The Committee shares the concerns expressed by the Honorable Member regarding the sentencing of children to death in the Philippines, which it condemns.

The Committee confirms that the Philippines is a party to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and that, in accordance with this Convention, Article 47 of the Philippine Penal Code stipulates that the death penalty should not be imposed if the accused was under the age of 18 at the time of committing the criminal act.

Following relevant investigations, it was found that the age of the accused is not automatically included in the case file when the case is being tried by the Court. Judges do not systematically investigate this matter, and only if the defense raises it is the age taken into account when issuing the court’s decision. This is a particular problem for those who are unable to have private legal representation. This issue is further complicated by the fact that some of the accused do not have birth certificates, making it difficult for them to prove that they are minors.

At present, there are 17 individuals who have been sentenced to death in the Philippines and who, according to all indications, were minors at the time the crimes for which they were convicted were committed. The Philippines Jesuit Prison Service Foundation brought this issue to the attention of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The Supreme Court has now assigned a regional court the task of verifying the actual age of these individuals.

The Committee, through its Delegation in Manila and in collaboration with the Delegations of the member states in the Philippines, has closely monitored developments regarding the death penalty and has repeatedly expressed its concerns to the government through the relevant démarches of the Troika.

Furthermore, the issue of the death penalty is a permanent element of the Committee’s political cooperation with the Philippines. Through the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the Committee provides support to local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and institutions that are actively working for the abolition of the death penalty.

The funds allocated for this purpose since November 2000 amount to a total of 805,798 euros and cover actions such as providing free legal aid to indigent death row inmates, training of lawyers and judges, post-conviction DNA testing (aimed at verifying evidence that could facilitate the review of wrongful convictions), research, and advocacy activities.

As demonstrated in the case of minors sentenced to death, the judicial system in the Philippines exhibits certain deficiencies. The Committee has identified this area as one of the priority sectors for providing assistance to the country and will fund a good governance program aimed at improving access to justice for the indigent.

A bill for the abolition of the death penalty in the Philippines has been submitted to both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and after being thoroughly discussed at the parliamentary committee level in May 2003, it is now ready for debate by both chambers. However, despite the fact that the groups advocating for the abolition of the death penalty appear to have gathered enough support for the bill to be approved by both bodies, the likelihood of this happening is increasingly diminishing in light of the prospect of the May 2004 elections, as the death penalty remains a controversial issue in the Philippines.