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'Criminals have more fun in the Philippines,' says death penalty proponent Tito Sotto


Senator Tito Sotto on Wednesday delivered a privilege speech urging his colleagues to bring back the death penalty, noting that criminals do not seem to fear the prospect of life imprisonment, currently the heaviest penalty meted on people convicted for heinous crimes.

“Whether it be murder, rape, drug manufacturing, pushing and using, the numbers are on the rise. Criminals have more fun in the Philippines,” he said, with reference to the country's tourism slogan “It's more fun in the Philippines.”

Sotto claimed that since death penalty has been repealed in 2006, the country "has become  virtual wild, wild west in these eastern islands."

He said criminals do not seem to fear the prospect of lifetime imprisonment, which he said creates an "influx of heinous crimes."

Among the recent crimes Sotto cited in his speech were:

  • the P4 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) and drug ingredients that were seized in Pampanga;
  • the killing of movie actress Cherry Pie Picache’s 75-year-old mother;
  • the abduction and killing of a seven-year-old girl in Pandacan;
  • the killing of a one-year-old girl, who was also believed to be raped, in San Juan; and
  • the arrest of six resort crashers for rape and robbery

Sotto said the imposition of the death penalty will act as a deterrent against heinous crimes.

“We must act to a crime situation in the best way to protect society and the future generation,” he said.

Early this year, Sotto filed Senate Bill No. 2080 or an Act Imposing Death Penalty in the Philippines. It is currently pending at the constitutional amendment committee.

Meanwhile, Sotto's privilege speech was referred to the committee of justice and human rights. —KBK, GMA News
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