Dela Rosa renews call for death penalty in Philippines

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa on Wednesday his push to bring back death penalty in the Philippines amid the killing of suspended Bureau of Corrections legal division chief Fredric Anthony Santos.

Dela Rosa is a former BuCor director-general from April 30, 2018, until October 12, 2018.

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He expressed his frustrations over the killings of at least 15 BuCor officials since 2011. All of those cases remain unsolved until today.

The recent victim was Santos, who earlier testified in the Senate on the controversies surrounding the implementation of Good Conduct Time Allowance.

The former PNP chief said the reason why authorities cannot solve the cases is that largely since New Bilibid Prison inmates are being used as gunmen.

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“Bakit kayo matatakot[Why do you get scared]? Sila dapat [na inmates] ang takutin niyo [They should be scared of you],” Dela Rosa told BuCor officials during the hearing of the Senate’s justice and human rights committee joint with constitutional amendments and revision of codes; public order and dangerous drugs; ways and means; civil service, government reorganization, and professional regulation; finance; and Blue Ribbon panels on measures for prison reform.

“Kaya dapat maibalik ang death penalty, Mr. Chairman. Para wala nang mapapatay sa mga tao natin. Iyong mga nasa Building 14  lang naman ang pumapatay ng tao natin diyan [eh],” he added.

(So the death penalty should be restored, Mr. Chairman. So no one could kill our people. Only those in Building 14 are killing our people there.)

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Also read: “If it’s good enough for Jesus”… Pacquiao invokes Bible in support of death penalty

Dela Rosa renews call for death penalty in Philippines

Dela Rosa also said that during his time as a BuCor Chief, he refused to back down from the inmates’ threat.

“Nung ayaw magpadisiplina ng preso kasi nilipat ko sila ng building tapos ayaw ng mga brigade commander nila, ang sabi ko, sige mag-riot kayo. Manood ako, pulutin ko na lang mamatay diyan,” he said.

(When they did not want to be disciplined because I transferred them to another building, I told them just have a riot. I will watch, and I will just pick-up anyone who will die.)

He said no gave in his challenge.

Senator Richard Gordon, for his part, said that BuCor officials could not run a prison on fear.

“You have no business running a prison if you cannot impose your will on prisoners,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte called the reinstatement of the death penalty in the Philippines for drug-related crimes and plunder during his third State of the Nation Address last year.