“I DO not mind putting the lives of Chinese drug traffickers who keep on importing illegal drugs to the country in death row if it means saving the lives of my fellow Filipinos who are being victimized by the illegal drug menace.”
This was the remark of senatorial bet Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa when asked about his stand on pushing for the restoration of death penalty amid the strong opposition of several sectors in the country.
Dela Rosa has been vocal of his plan to push for the reinstatement of the death penalty for serious illegal drug offenses and other heinous crimes if given a seat in the Senate.
Dela Rosa, who was in the City of Pampanga for his interview at the Laus Group-run RW 95.1 FM, clarified that his version of the death penalty only covers convicted big time illegal drug traffickers.
“When I say drug traffickers, these are mostly Chinese who bring in tons of illegal drugs and distribution of the different kinds of prohibited narcotics in the slums. I do not mean the illegal drug users and small time pushers because they are only victims,” Dela Rosa said.
Dela Rosa disclosed that convicted Chinese illegal drug traffickers were able to sustain their illegal business even inside their detention cells through their connection and the lax security inside the facility before he came in as head of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).
“If we do not impose the death penalty, we can never neutralize them. They are not even afraid of getting jailed because they are confident it will not stop their business, rather just expand it with the connections they are gaining from fellow inmates inside the Bilibid,” he furthered.
Dela Rosa is eyeing to sustain the comprehensive reformation program for small time illegal drug users through the construction of government-operated rehabilitation centers all over the country.
During his leadership in the Philippine National Police, Dela Rosa initiated the launching of the reformation program for thousands of self-confessed illegal drug users and pushers who surrendered under the government’s campaign.
“We must give chance to those who deserve it, and I believe many of the illegal drug users, especially those in the street level, were only misguided and were victims of peer pressure and curiosity,” he said.