Department of Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Monday said he strongly supports President Duterte’s call for the reimposition of the death penalty for illegal drug traffickers.
Calling it long overdue, Año stressed the need to pass the death penalty “in order to reinforce our fight against illegal drugs’’.
He added that in Asia, the Philippines is the only country that does not impose the death penalty.
“Almost all heinous crimes committed are related with the use of illegal drugs,” Año said.
President Duterte, in his fifth SONA, again called for the reimposition of the death penalty through lethal injection for heinous crimes related to illegal drugs.
“This is an important deterrent to criminals to stop drug trafficking. So many lives have been wasted because of drugs,” he added.
Some countries that impose the death penalty as the harshest punishment for drug offenses are China and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Wilkins Villanueva also supported the revival of the death penalty in the country to boost the government’s war against illegal drugs.
He noted the absence of death penalty is encouraging criminal elements, particularly the drug syndicates, to continue their lawless acts.
In the event of being invited to Congress or the Senate, Villanueva will support the reimposition of the death penalty for illegal drug transactions for a “certain quantity, one kilo of illegal drugs or more.’’