<P> Capital punishment in the Philippines has a varied history and is currently suspended as of 2006 . Capital punishment was legal after independence and increased in use under the Ferdinand Marcos regime . After the fall of Marcos, there was a moratorium on capital punishment from 1987 to 1999, followed by a resumption in executions from 1999 to 2006, and followed - in turn - by a law ending the practice . </P> <P> Filipinos have mixed opinions about the death penalty, with many opposing it on religious and humanitarian grounds, while advocates see it as a way of deterring crimes . </P> <P> During Spanish colonial rule, the most common methods of execution were death by firing squad (especially for treason / military crimes, usually reserved for independence fighters) and garrotte (a notable case would be the Gomburza). Death by hanging was another popular method . </P> <P> A prominent example is the national hero, José Rizal, who was executed by firing squad on the morning of December 30, 1896, in the park that now bears his name . </P>

When did the death penalty start in the philippines