PHILIPPINE Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Aaron Aquino expressed support for the restoration of the death penalty, saying that big time drug peddlers deserve it.

Aquino said alloweing death penalty in the country’s justice system will serve as strong deterrent against crimes related to illegal drugs.

“Foreign and local drug offenders, especially drug protectors and coddlers who were found guilty of manufacturing, trafficking, and pushing of dangerous drugs, warrant the capital punishment,” he said.

“Offenders of heinous crimes fueled by illegal drugs, like rape, also deserve the state-sanctioned execution,” Aquino added.

Aquino said having death penalty does not only adress the country's drug problem but also the concern on overrcrowding in jails.

He said several convicted drug lords are still involved in the illegal drug trade and continue to communicate with the outside world while in prison.

"Illegal drugs, criminality and corruption are social menaces that go hand in hand. Get rid of one problem, the other two can no longer survive,” Aquino said.

“If you have done something evil, you have to pay. We are not promoting a cycle of violence. However, it is morally justified in imposing death penalty to people who seek to destroy the lives of the Filipinos, most especially our youth,” he added.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte renewed his call for the restoration of the death penalty particularly for heinous crimes caused by illegal drugs, and plunder.

He said the drug problem will not be solved unless corruption is eliminated.

The death penalty was abolished in 2006 during the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. (SunStar Philippines)