Duterte asks Congress to revive death penalty vs. drug crimes

President Rodrigo Duterte has renewed his call for the passage of the death penalty for drug-related offenses.

“I reiterate [my call for] the swift passage of the law reviving the death penalty by lethal injection,” Duterte said in his fifth State of the Nation Address.

The President said the death penalty will be for crimes provided under the 2002 Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

His call for death penalty renewal, however, did not earn a loud applause from the lawmakers.

“I did not hear much applause, I suppose they are not interested,” Duterte said.

This prompted his allies to clap their hands louder.

“This bill will help us deter criminality and save our children posed by the illegal and dangerous drugs,” Duterte added.

Duterte also warned criminals not to return to their “old ways.”

“I am addressing myself to the criminals. You commit holdups, you commit rapes, you commit all sorts of things and you harm the public, then kaaway mo na ako,” he said.

“Kapag bumalik kayo sa dati kagaya noon, patong-patong na naman ang patay dito. Sigurado hahanapin ko kayo. Do not ever go back to your old ways. Maghanap na lang kayo ng anong trabaho diyan. Magtiis kayo.”

The proposed death penalty bill is yet to gain support both in the House and the Senate.

Breach of law

In response, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) spokesperson Jacqueline Ann De Guia countered that reinstating the death penalty by lethal injection is a violation of the country’s commitment under international law.

“CHR wishes to stress that any moves to reinstate capital punishment in the country conflicts with the tenets of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Philippines ratified in 2007. Bringing back death penalty will be a breach of international law,” De Guia said in a statement.

“Time and again, CHR has invited the government to engage in a frank and factual discussion on the ineffectiveness of death penalty in curbing crimes. We too believe that crimes must be punished, but the call for justice should not result to further violations of human rights, especially the right to life,” she added.

De Guia said that there should instead be a comprehensive approach in addressing drug sale and use, as well as all other crimes, anchored on restorative justice.

During his fourth SONA last year, President Rodrigo Duterte also called for the reinstatement of death penalty for drug-related crimes and plunder. -with Virgil Lopez/NB/BM/LDF, GMA News