As the third speaker of the Negative team, I strongly oppose to this resolution, Resolved, That Death Penalty Be Restored in the Philippines. Why? Because Death Penalty deprives people the right to life. In Article II, Section11 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states: "The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights". The Commission on Human Rights has opposed the enactment of any law re-imposing the death penalty law in the Philippines on the ground that it offends the dignity of human person and human rights. The abolition of the death penalty by the 1987 Constitution was a very big step towards a practical recognition of the dignity of every human being created to the image and likeness of God, and of the value of human life from its conception to its natural end. Every human being has the inherent right to life and this right must be protected by law. However, this right is not as sacrosanct and inviolable as it sounds. The main principle in human rights law is that no-one shall be arbitrarily deprived of life. Amnesty International (www.amnestyinternational.org. retrieved January 18, 2013) states, “The death penalty violates the right to life.” Capital punishment contradicts our moral beliefs and claims of a fair and just government. This makes the death penalty our most fundamental human rights violation. It is the denial of the most basic human rights. The Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (www.icadp.org retrieved January 15, 2013) states, “We don’t cut off the hands of thieves to protect property; we do not stone adulterers to stop adultery. We consider that barbaric. Yet we continue to take life as a means of protecting life.” No person, government-affiliated or not, has the right to decide if another human is worthy or unworthy of life. Our natural rights as humans, which cannot be taken away by the government, include the right to life....
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