Sotto reiterates bill seeking revival of death penalty has more chances in Senate if limited to “high-level drug traffickers”

Senate President Tito Sotto (l) speaking at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday, May 24./Meanne Corvera/Eagle News Service/

By Meanne Corvera
Eagle News Service

Senate President Tito Sotto on Thursday, May 24, reiterated the proposal to revive the death penalty has more chances of being approved in the Upper House if it was to be limited only to those convicted of high-level drug trafficking.

He said the same could not be said of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption proposal to include  rebellion, terrorism and plunder on the list of crimes penalized by death.

According to Sotto, a measure seeking to implement the death penalty for high-level drug traffickers could get 13 votes in the Senate.

He said he was among those who would support such a measure.

” Kasi yung ibang krimen na binabanggit nila ay may remedy as far as the prosecution is concerned. Ibig sabihin, pag hinuli mo, binulok mo sa bilangguan, hindi na magagawa ang krimen,” he said.

High-level drug-traffickers, on the other hand, he said, can still create havoc even when they are behind bars.

“Kaya yun ang pwede. We have to inhibit them from doing the same crime again and that’s precisely the reason kung bakit sinusuportahan ko for high level drug trafficking,” Sotto said.

There are at least eight pending measures seeking to revive the death penalty in the Senate.