PR
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) firmly believes that death penalty will serve as a strong deterrent against crimes related to illegal drugs.
“Foreign and local drug offenders, especially drug protectors and coddlers who were found guilty of manufacturing, trafficking, and pushing of dangerous drugs, warrant the capital punishment,” PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino.
“Offenders of heinous crimes fueled by illegal drugs, like rape, also deserve the state-sanctioned execution,” the PDEA chief added.
According to Aquino, the more uncompromising and tough the law is, the harder it is to break. “Death penalty, not life imprisonment, must be imposed to all international and local drug traffickers to send a strong message not to turn our country into a business hub for illegal drugs. They tend to capitalize on our laws where the maximum penalty is less harsh,” he said.
Those favoring the reimposition of death penalty say life sentence also has its share of disadvantages. Besides the problem of overcrowding in jails, there are reports that several convicted drug lords are still involved in the illegal drug trade, and continue to communicate with the outside world while in incarceration.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in his 2019 State of the Nation Address (SONA), advocates the reinstatement of death penalty for heinous crimes caused by
illegal drugs, and plunder. According to the President, the drug problem will not be solved unless corruption is eliminated.
“Illegal drugs, criminality and corruption are social menaces that go hand in hand. Get rid one problem, the other two can no longer survive,” Aquino said.
“If you have done something evil, you have to pay. We are not promoting a cycle of violence. However, it is morally justified in imposing death penalty to people who seek to destroy the lives of the Filipinos, most especially our youth,” the PDEA chief said.
