SENATOR Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is determined to refile his bill seeking to reimpose the death penalty for high-level drug traffickers, citing the resurgence of heinous crimes in the country.
“If given the chance, I will file it again—this never-ending death penalty bill for high-level drug traffickers. This does not include small-time street pushers; this targets the big players, those involved in large-scale drug operations,” the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief said in a radio interview.
“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,” he added.
The reelectionist senator mentioned the recent kidnapping of a 14-year-old Chinese student in Taguig City whose finger was cut off by the perpetrators.
He also noted the case in Cebu where a man, who was under the influence of illegal drugs, killed his wife and two children; and the cases of 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,” the Mindanaoan lawmaker said.
“Sa kampanya na ito, hindi mo matatalo itong ilegal na droga through petiks-petiks approach or padisente-disente approach or ‘yung you treat this problem with kid gloves. Kailangan talaga kamay na bakal ang gamit mo dito. Hindi pupwedeng hindi mo gamitan ng kamay na bakal, otherwise, tatawanan ka lang nitong mga sindikato na ito. Kailangan seryosohin natin ito,” he added.
When he was still the director-general of the Bureau of Corrections, Dela Rosa shared that a convicted Chinese drug lord told him that they were importing drugs in the Philippines because it is one of the Asian countries that do not impose capital punishment.
“Kung doon daw sila mag-traffic ng drugs, siguradong bitay sila doon dahil merong death penalty doon at dito sa Pilipinas, wala tayong death penalty. So kahit na sila ay mahuli, makulong, ma-convict ay tuloy pa rin daw ‘yung kanilang pagpatakbo ng kanilang illegal drug-trade sa labas ng Bilibid,” Dela Rosa shared.
“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,” he added.
Since he was elected as senator in 2019, Dela Rosa has been pushing for the imposition of death penalty for persons who import and manufacture dangerous drugs and other illegal substances in the Philippines.
The former PNP chief led the Duterte administration’s war on drugs where at least 1.6 million drug users surrendered to the government.
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