Philippine and international law are clear: child offenders cannot be sentenced to death or executed, Amnesty International said today, launching its latest report "Philippines: Something hanging over me: child offenders under sentence of death". Both domestic law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child define child offenders as those who are under the age of 18 at the time the crime in question was committed. Despite these provisions, at least seven child offenders have been sentenced to death in the Philippines.
"This is not only a breach of Philippine law but also a flagrant violation of the Philippines' commitments under international law," the human rights organization emphasized.
"This is not only a breach of Philippine law but also a flagrant violation of the Philippines' commitments under international law," the human rights organization emphasized.
The Philippines was one of the first countries in the region to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and has many domestic provisions protecting children's rights. It should be legally impossible for youth offenders to be sentenced to death. Yet Ramon Nicodemus, Saturani Panggayong, Roger Pagsibigan, Larina Perpinan, Elmer Butal, Christopher Padua, and Ronald Bragas were all reportedly under the age of 18 at the time of offending and all are currently under sentence of death.