House bill imposing death penalty on foreign drug traffickers pushed

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. Photo from congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang may not be keen on reviving death penalty but a lawmaker on Tuesday is hopeful that a bill imposing capital punishment on foreign drug traffickers would be passed.

Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez is optimistic that House Bill 4510, a measure he co-authored with his brother Abante Mindanao Party-list Representative Maximo Rodriguez Jr., would hurdle deliberations by the House committee on dangerous drugs in its next hearing.

The bill imposes death penalty on foreign drug traffickers coming from countries which likewise implement death penalty.

Asked why he was pushing for such a measure, Rodriguez pointed out how the Philippine government was left helpless in saving Filipinos facing death in countries imposing death penalty like China.

HB 4510 seeks to amend the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and include a portion for offenders who are foreign nationals. Under the proposed bill “if the violator of any of the provisions of this act is an alien, the penalty to be imposed shall be the penalty prescribed by their national law.”

Amnesty International pegged the number of “retentionist” countries or “countries and territories that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes” at 58. The list includes China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Thailand among others.

“Where the death penalty is not imposed, in addition to the penalties prescribed in the unlawful act committed, any alien who violates the said Act shall, after service of sentence, be deported immediately without further proceedings,” states the bill.

“The penalty of death, if applicable, shall be imposed despite the prohibition of the imposition of the death penalty in the Philippines,” it adds.

The proposed bill has undergone three hearings under the House committee on dangerous drugs and Rodriguez expects its passage when they next meet.

“I am invoking the rule of equity and reciprocity,” explained the legislator, saying that foreign drug traffickers are flocking to the country because they know that they cannot be persecuted.

“We are against the death penalty, this is only for drug trafficking,” said Rodriguez.

“(These foreigners) are disrespecting our country. There’s always a distinction between Filipinos and foreigners. That is my stand,” he added.