Gatchalian to file 5th Senate death-penalty bill

Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian on Saturday revealed that he too would be filing a bill seeking the re-imposition of the death penalty.

"Sa atin, nakatutok tayo sa drug lord. So ibabalik natin ang death penalty sa drug lord," Gatchalian told a Metro Manila radio news station. "Dahil sa aking obserbasyon, in the last three years, walang drug lord na nakukulong o nahahatulan. Kung sila man ay makulong, makikita natin na nako-control pa rin nila ang illegal drugs sa labas."

Gatchalian also believed that the threat of the death penalty would dissuade would be drug smugglers from moving their product into the country.

"Ang gusto natin ipalabas sa kanila na wag na magtangka dito," the senator explained on dwIZ.

While Gatchalian was convinced that capital punishment was the only instrument that could make the country completely drug free, he did not think that the strategy was worth trying on any other crime.

Thus, unlike the death penalty bills filed by Senators Manny Pacquiao, Ronald dela Rosa,  Christopher Go, and Panfilo Lacson, Gatchalian's version was limited to high-volume drug trafficking.

According to Gatchalian, the limit he set on his bill also made it less likely to be opposed, and thus more likely to be passed.

"Sa aking pag aanalisa ang common denominator ay drug trafficking. So kung ililimit lang, malaki ang tsansa. Kasi pag isasama ang ibang crime, baka pati ako 'di na rin bumoto," he reasoned. — DVM, GMA News