FILE PHOTO: Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. during the plenary session on March 15, 2023. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — The killing of a 22-year-old student of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas in Cavite province has again prompted Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. to press for the restoration of capital punishment for heinous crimes.
Police apprehended over the weekend the alleged killer of Queen Leanne Daguinsin, a graduating computer science student, who was robbed and repeatedly stabbed inside her dormitory room in Barangay Santa Fe, also in Dasmariñas.
On Monday, Revilla, who gave a P300,000 reward, lauded the arrest of 39-year-old suspect Angelito Erlano.
“Habang mabilis nating nasakote ang gumawa ng karumal-dumal na krimeng ito, dapat tiyakin natin na hindi na ito mauulit pa,” he said in a statement.
(While we swiftly captured the perpetrator of this heinous crime, we must ensure that it will never happen again.)
The senator then reiterated his call to restore the death penalty for heinous crimes.
“Yung mga ganito dapat binibitay na, nang hindi na mapamarisan,” said Revilla, who has been pushing for the reimposition of the capital punishment on plunder and drug trafficking.
A death penalty law for heinous crimes was passed in 1993, but it was abolished in 2006 during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Since then, several measures have been filed in Congress seeking to reinstate the capital punishment in the country.
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