SENATOR Cristopher ‘Bong’ Go, announced he would be re-filing in the coming 19th Congress a bill he filed in 2019, reinstituting the death penalty for certain heinous crimes and those guilty of plunder.
In a statement last June 2, 2022, Go said he would be re-filing Senate Bill 207 that seeks to reinstate capital punishment for illegal drugs and plunder. The measure, however, failed to pass in the 18th Congress due to the lobbying of political pressure groups.
The death penalty for heinous crimes was re-introduced during the abbreviated term of Pres. Joseph Estrada but was immediately reversed by Congress under his successor, Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Go made known his intention to re-file SB 207 during an ambush interview while he was visiting the Malasakit Center at the Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center in Mati City.
Go emphasized that the reinstatement of the death penalty is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s crusade against illegal drugs, criminality and corruption. He added that the law can discourage criminal activities.
“Ang kampanya po ni Pangulong Duterte laban sa droga, kriminalidad at korapsyon sa gobyerno ay dapat ipagpatuloy. Sayang po ‘yung gains na ginawa natin,” explained Go.
Go continued, “‘Pag bumalik po ang droga, babalik na naman po ang korapsyon at kriminalidad. Kasi makokorap na naman ‘yung tao ‘pag nandyan ‘yung droga.”
“Pag hindi takot ‘yung tao sa mga awtoridad, makokorap na naman, balik ang droga, balik ang kriminalidad. Sayang po ‘yung inumpisahan ni Pangulong Duterte,” he added.
Previous congressional hearings on the country’s illegal drugs problem disclosed that the country has become a favorite transshipment point and dumping ground of international drug syndicates precisely because of the absence of the death penalty for illegal drugs
Drug-related crimes, Go said, should also be subjected to capital punishment. These specifically refer to the importation, distribution and possession of dangerous drugs or essential chemicals; the maintenance of dens for related activities; the cultivation of illicit narcotic plants; the unlawful prescription of dangerous drugs; the misapplication of confiscated drugs by public officers; and the planting of evidence.
Go maintained that the Duterte Administration’s campaign against corruption, illegal drugs and crime improved the peace and order in the country and allowed communities and businesses to flourish.
“So, ako naman po, napatunayan naman po in the last six years, tingnan ninyo mas nakakalakad po ang inyong mga anak pauwi sa inyong bahay na hindi nababastos at hindi nasasaktan. Dahil po iyan sa ginawa ng Administrasyong Duterte,” said Go.
According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Real Numbers report as of March 2022, a total of 14,888 high-value targets had been captured since the drug war began in July 2016. Authorities have also seized illegal drugs worth PhP88.83 billion across the country, including PhP76.17 billion in shabu.
Under Go’s proposed measure, plunder, or the illegal acquisition of wealth by a public officer with an aggregate amount of at least P50 million shall also be punishable by death.