By John Clifford Lintao
MORE than a week after President Rodrigo Duterte implied the need for a congressional action that would see an end to the lucrative illegal drugs trade, the House of Representatives have resumed deliberation on the pending bill re-imposing death penalty as capital punishment.
House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chair Robert Ace Barbers maintained his support to the re-imposition of death penalty, saying such is the only punishment that would “bring shivers to the bones” of wrongdoers.
The panel was deliberating on 12 pending death penalty bills, six of which are for violations of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
“I am for death penalty no matter who our president is. I believe this is the only penalty that would bring shivers to the bones of the evil doers,” says Barbers who added: “[This is] the only deterrent to the commission of heinous crimes, the only thing that even the most hardened criminals fear.”
Barbers dismissed as “flawed” the argument of those who oppose the revival of death penalty that the punishment will only apply to poor people who cannot afford to get a lawyer.
“Lawyers are not the only ones inside the court, there are judges who see and observe the trial and who can propound questions to witnesses and can control the phase and direction of the trial, to see to it that justice is served,” he said.
“The law provides that if the accused cannot get a lawyer, the judge can even appoint one for him. The Public Attorneys Office is there,” he added.
Barbers also shrugged off claims that the Philippines cannot re-impose death penalty due to its commitment to international agreements, and reviving capital punishment would be a violation of these treaties.
“The last time I checked we are still a sovereign nation. Last time I checked too, our Constitution allows death penalty,” he said.
“No other nation can dictate how it runs its own government. It is free to chart its own destiny,” he added.
Likewise supporting the re-imposition of death penalty is Minority Leader Benny Abante Jr., a senior pastor at the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Ekklesia, who reiterated his support for death penalty as an advocacy he took up “in defense of human life, honor and dignity, preservation of peace and order in society, and respect for law and authority.”