Former Philippine National Police Chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa renewed his call to revive the death penalty in the Philippines in light of the Tarlac shooting wherein a police officer killed two people.
“Ayaw nila ng death penalty eh! ‘Yung ginawa ng pulis na cold-blooded killing is double murder and a heinous crime na dapat ang parusa ay death penalty pero hanggang ngayon hirap na hirap pa ring umusad ‘yung in-author kong death penalty bill,” Dela Rosa said.
Dela Rosa believes that capital punishment could deter killings.
“Sino pa ang gustong pumatay ng tao kung alam niyang papatayin din siya via death penalty?” Dela Rosa said.
Meanwhile, Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. earlier aired the same sentiment as Bato and said the Tarlac shooting is a “compelling case for the reinstitution of the death penalty.”
But for Senator Joel Villanueva, a prerequisite is needed before capital punishment could be reimposed in the country.
“You can only convince me if we have a working and efficient justice system,” he said in a separate message to reporters.
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Bato renews call for death penalty
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri also urged the House of Representatives to approve the counterpart measure of a Senate Bill No. 1055, a bill aiming to build a separate facility for inmates who committed heinous crimes.
“A life in isolation is a fitting punishment to these murderers, drug lords, rapists and plunderers. We truly need these type of Maximum Security Prisons as a deterrent to would-be heinous criminals,” he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Richard Gordon, chairperson of the Senate committee on justice, expressed his opposition to capital punishment’s revival.
In August, Gordon said he would not let Senator Dela Rosa lead the hearings on the capital punishment bill, calling the former PNP chief “biased.”
“Sasabihin niya dahil ako ay against death penalty, sasabihin niya biased ako, lalong hindi ko ibibigay sa kaniya dahil siya ang biased talaga,” Gordon said.