MANILA, July 24 — President Rodrigo Duterte in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday urged both houses of the Congress to pass two legislations he prioritized–a measure on disaster resiliency and a measure on the reimposition of death penalty.
“I am calling on both houses of Congress to expeditiously craft a law establishing a new authority or department that is responsive to the prevailing 21st century conditions and empowered to best deliver an enhanced disaster resiliency and quick disaster response,” President Duterte told audiences at the Batasan Pambasa Complex.
He said that while the law is being crafted, there should be other actions taken to safeguard people from natural disasters.
“While the law is [being] crafted with extreme urgency, we need to undertake immediate action to ensure disaster resiliency and effective response in the greater [Metro] Manila area which is our country’s seat of governance, center of business, commerce and the academe. Disaster resiliency of Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces is a matter of urgent [national] concern,” he added.
The President also asked the Congress to pass the death penalty bill.
“I ask Congress to act on all pending legislations to reimpose the death penalty on heinous crimes–especially on the trafficking of illegal drugs,” the President said.
In March, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved House Bill No. 4727 — or an act imposing the death penalty on drug-related crimes — with 217 affirmative votes, 54 negative and one abstention.
The bill limits the imposition of the death penalty to just drug-related offenses in a bid to bolster its enactment into law. It also delists the crimes of plunder, rape, and treason from its coverage as a result of several majority caucuses of the House.
Meanwhile, the death penalty bill is still pending in the Senate. (Azer N. Parrocha/PNA)