(Eagle News) — With 216 “yes” votes and 54 “no” votes, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the bill seeking to reimpose the death penalty in the country.
House Bill 4727 was passed on Tuesday, March 7, just six days after its second reading approval on voice voting.
This time, through nominal voting, there was only one abstention, as lawmakers expressed their votes before the passage of the bill.
Only drug-related offenses remained of the previous 21 crimes covered by the bill.
Judges are also given the leeway to impose either a life sentence or the maximum penalty of death for suspects they convict.
The following drug-related offenses are punishable with life imprisonment or death under HB 4727:
⦁ importation of dangerous drugs
⦁ sale, trading, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs maintenance of a den, dive or resort
⦁ manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals
⦁ misappropriation, misapplication or failure to account for confiscated, seized or surrendered dangerous drugs
⦁ planting of evidence
The possession of illegal drugs will only be penalized with the maximum offense of life imprisonment.
The bill also exempts from the death penalty children below 18 years old or senior citizens over 70 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime.
The death penalty can be carried out by any of the following methods: hanging, firing squad or lethal injection.
But the anti-death penalty congressmen said they are not giving up.
They plan to question before the Supreme Court the bill’s passage as soon as President Rodrigo Duterte signs it into law.
“Our next step would wait until the President signs it into law, and once it is signed into law, hindi pa tuyo ang tinta, pupunta na kaming Korte Suprema,” said Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.