Gordon won't let Bato lead Senate hearings on death penalty bill

Senator Richard Gordon will not let Senator Ronald dela Rosa to chair the Senate committee hearings on the proposed death penalty law pushed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Dela Rosa volunteered to lead a justice subcommittee if Gordon was not willing to hear the 10 pending death penalty bills in the Senate.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian relinquished his membership in the Senate Committee on Justice to let Dela Rosa in.

"Sasabihin niya dahil ako ay against death penalty, sasabihin niya biased ako, lalong hindi ko ibibigay sa kaniya dahil siya ang biased talaga. Sinasabi niya aggressively na siya ay for the death penalty," Gordon said.

"I'm calling him down now, huwag mo namang sabihin na ida-drag namin ang feet namin dito. Hindi ko ginagawa 'yan," he added.

Gordon, who is also the chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, is against the re-imposition of the death penalty in the country. 

Dela Rosa, the first chief of the Philippine National Police under Duterte, is supportive of the death measure.

He was the PNP chief when Duterte's deadly war on drugs started.

Thousands of deaths have been attributed to the campaign against drugs of the Duterte administration.

"I am the chairman of the committee; I will chair fairly. Makikita nyo sa akin lahat tatawagin ko. Pero ito sasabihin ko, unang-una is it timely?" Gordon said.

"‘Yung death penalty ba ibig sabihin nun busy tayo araw-araw, imbes na nagbabakuna, papatay tayo? Kung halimbawa makapasa, iisponsoran ko at magdedebate tayo," he added.

Gordon initially expressed his reluctance to conduct hearings on the measure.

"I'm not gonna hold a hearing, I don't believe it. If they insist, then I'll probably hold a hearing first and if inaakala nila hindi ako fair ibibigay ko sa kanila," Gordon had said.

President Rodrigo Duterte urged the Congress to do revive capital punishment for drug-related crimes during his fifth State of the Nation Address. -NB, GMA News