Bato wants revival of death penalty

President Rodrigo Duterte and PNP Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

The chief of the 160,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP) thinks it is necessary to restore the death penalty to address rising number of brazen drug dealers in the country.

Speaking to reporters after the drug raid in Quezon City that yielded at least 45 kilograms of “shabu” (“metamphetamine hydrochloride”) PNP chief Director Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa expressed his support to the much-debated re-imposition of the death penalty.

“Kailangan natin ng death penalty talaga na batas dahil isipin mo sa dami ng namamatay, natutumba e nagdadala pa din sila ng ganito karaming drugs,” Dela Rosa said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who vowed to clean the country of drugs by killing drug lords and pushers, has been advocating the restoration of capital punishment.

The police chief personally went to the house in Barangay (village) Banawe anti-narcotics operatives searched on Tuesday afternoon.

Members of the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG), Quezon City police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confiscated packs of “shabu” weighing 45 kilograms.

They also arrested four persons namely Eduardo Dario, 62, Marikina City resident; Rhea May Libira, 20 years old, native of Balagtas, Bulacan; Gemma Rose Codera, 26, native of Masbate; John Rey Bungcasan, 34, native of Dumaguete City.

The arrested suspects have been brought to the AIDG headquarters in Camp Crame for booking procedures. TVJ

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