‘Tough fight’ seen on death penalty bill in Senate

Drilon vowed to block the proposal, stressing that his bloc “strongly and unequivocally” opposes the reimposition of the death penalty. (PNA file photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA — Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Friday said the measure restoring the death penalty awaits a tough fight in the Senate.

Drilon made the remark after a number of death penalty bills have been filed for the 18th Congress.

Senators Manny Pacquiao, Ronald dela Rosa, Panfilo Lacson, and Christopher Go have filed their separate bills reviving capital punishment in the country.

Drilon vowed to block the proposal, stressing that his bloc “strongly and unequivocally” opposes the reimposition of the death penalty.

“We are prepared to fight it all the way. It will be a tough fight considering that it is administration-backed legislation and a number of senators have openly endorsed its passage. Let alone our diminished number in the Senate,” Drilon said.

“Notwithstanding these difficulties, we will do our best to prevent it. We will never allow the 18th Congress to give license to authorities to kill the poor,” he added.

Drilon argued that reviving death penalty is similar to giving a “death sentence” to the poor given the “inadequacies” of the justice system.

“It has been proven time and again that capital punishment is not an effective deterrent to crimes. Only the poor will be made the victim of this measure,” he added.

Drilon also noted that majority of Filipinos have expressed strong opposition to the proposal, citing a Social Weather Stations survey last year showing that 7 out of 10 Filipinos are not in favor of imposing the death penalty on a number of serious crimes.

Dela Rosa’s bill seeks the reimposition of the death penalty, possibly through firing squad, only for high-profile drug offenders.

Go’s measure, meanwhile, proposes that the death penalty would be imposed through lethal injection.

Pacquiao prescribed the penalty of life imprisonment to death and a fine ranging from PHP1 million to PHP10 million for the importation and selling of illegal drugs.

Lacson, on the other hand, covers a wider range of offenses, which include, plunder, rape, murder, treason, terrorism, and human trafficking, among others.