Bato seeks death penalty revival citing crime rate spike

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is keen on refiling his bill seeking to revive the death penalty for high-level drug traffickers, citing the resurgence of “heinous crimes” in the country.

Dela Rosa disclosed his plans during a radio interview on Tuesday, mentioning a recent incident in Taguig City involving a 14-year-old Chinese student, whose finger was cut off by his kidnappers

“Kung sakaling papalarin, ipa-file ko pa rin ulit kagaya itong walang kamatayang death penalty for high-level drug traffickers. Hindi kasama dito ‘yung mga small-time na mga pusher diyan sa kalsada, drug pusher, ito 'yung mga big-time, 'yung mga malakihan (f I am fortunate enough, I will file again, just like this everlasting death penalty for high-level drug traffickers. This does not include the small-time pushers on the streets, drug pushers, these are the big-time ones, the large-scale ones),” he said. 

Dela Rosa lamented that the proposed measure to revive the death penalty has not been successfully passed through legislation due to controversies.

“Hindi makalusot-lusot dahil nga medyo kontrobersyal. But still, I truly believe, I’m really convinced na kung ito ay makapasa ay ito ang magiging solusyon sa mga problema na kinakaharap ng ating bansa ngayon (t hasn't been passing because it's quite controversial. But still, I truly believe, I’m really convinced that if this passes, it will be the solution to the problems our country is facing right now),” he stressed.

Dela Rosa also mentioned an incident in Cebu, where a man, intoxicated by illegal drugs, murdered his wife and two children. He also condemned other incidents involving a three-year-old and an 80-year-old who were both raped and killed.

“Alam niyo ‘yung kahindik-hindik na krimen, mga heinous crimes na ‘yan, magagawa nila ‘yan kapag sila’y wala sa tamang pag-iisip at sila ay under the influence of drugs (You know, those horrific crimes, those heinous crimes, they are capable of doing that when they are not in their right mind and are under the influence of drugs),” he said.

Dela Rosa, who was the director-general of the Bureau of Corrections at the time, shared an account of a conversation he had with a convicted Chinese drug lord.

“According to the drug lord, one of the reasons they were smuggling drugs into the Philippines was because the country did not have a death penalty, unlike other Asian countries,” he said.

Dela Rosa said the drug lord also pointed out the stricter penalties against their illegal activities.

However, in the Philippines, since the death penalty had been abolished, even if they were arrested, convicted, and imprisoned, they could continue their illegal drug trade operations, particularly outside the Bilibid prison.

“Hindi na sila takot na mahuli dahil nakakulong naman sila. Hindi sila takot na magkakaso dahil konbiktado naman sila at safe pa sila sa loob ng bilibid. So, tuloy-tuloy lang ‘yung kanilang negosyo (They're no longer afraid of getting caught because they're already imprisoned. They're not afraid of facing charges because they're already convicted and are safe inside the Bilibid. So, their business continues without interruption),” he added.