Drilon wants Senate to discuss revival of death penalty

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Franklin Drilon is urging his colleagues in the Senate to start the debates on the proposed revival of the death penalty in the country.

“Sa aking tingin, pwede pa natin ‘yang ‘pag-debatehan. Hinihimok nga ng aking kasama na si Senator Tito Sotto na i-report ‘yan at pagdebatehan sa Senado ang pagbabalik sa death penalty,” Drilon said in a radio interview on Wednesday.

(In my opinion, we can debate the issue. My colleague, Senator Tito Sotto has been pushing for the Senate to start debating the revival of the death penalty.)

Sotto, an opposition member, is openly pushing for the restoration of death penalty amid the rising criminality in the country.

“Dapat tingnan kung ang pagtaas ng krimen, ay dahil ba sa pagkawala ng death penalty o sa hindi maayos na pagpapatakbo ng peace and order situation ng ating kapulisan.”

(We should study if the rising criminality is because of the absence of death penalty or because of the police’s inability to control the peace and order situation in the country.)

“Kailangan tingnan ‘yan ng husto dahil may sapat na budget ang Philippine National Police. Ang importante kasi ay ‘yung kanilang visibility, dahil kung hindi nakikita ang pulis, ay baka isa ‘yan sa dahilan kung bakit dumadami nga ang mga krimen sa mga langsangan,” Drilon added.

(We should look into that extensively because the Philippine National Police has enough budget. It is important to know if the police are visible, because if they are not, then that is probably one of the reasons for the rising criminality.)

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