Barbers appeals to Senate to pass death penalty bill

Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers on Wednesday reiterated his call for the passage of the death penalty in order to address incidents of the shabu shipments in the country.

Barbers, who chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, made the remark during his panel's inquiry into the Bureau of Customs' (BOC) apparent failure to prevent large-scale smuggling of illegal drugs into the country.

In his opening message, Barbers pointed out that shabu smuggling incidents continue because laws dealing with drug-related crimes may have been implemented poorly, or that the penalties are not stiff enough.

"I would therefore take this opportunity to appeal to the Senate to pass the Death Penalty Bill that has been approved by this House," Barbers said. "This is the only legislation that is apt for these crimes that keep on happening."

"Death is the only language these criminals and big-time syndicates understand," he added.

In March last year, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 4727 that seeks to reimpose capital punishment on seven drug-related offenses. The said bill, however, has not made significant progress in the Senate.

Barbers said Congress should not wait for more deaths and crimes brought about by substance abuse before it passes the death penalty bill.

"The future of our children is already compromised as it is. Are we waiting for them to turn addicts or victims of drug related crimes? Please listen to the deafening silence of our children," he said.

In the previous hearing, former Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña admitted that he was already inclined to believe that the magnetic lifters found in a warehouse in Cavite contained shabu following the testimony of the Department of Public Works and Highways that the containers were not designed to lift heavy materials.

"With those evidence, with those testimonies, I am now more inclined to believe that indeed na yung mga magnetic lifters na yun contained shabu," said Lapeña, who has since been transferred to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). —KBK, GMA News