Bato pushes for death penalty anew on heels of Tarlac shooting incident

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa on Tuesday said the policeman who shot dead an unarmed mother and her son in Tarlac could have been punished with death penalty, but lamented that the bill he filed for its reimposition is still gathering dust in the legislative mill.

"Ayaw nila ng death penalty eh! 'Yung ginawa ng pulis na cold-blooded killing is double murder and a heinous crime na dapat ang parusa ay death penalty pero hanggang ngayon hirap na hirap pa ring umusad 'yung in-author kong death penalty bill," Dela Rosa, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, said in a message.

He believes that capital punishment would serve as a deterrent to killings.

"Sino pa ang gustong pumatay ng tao kung alam niyang papatayin din siya via death penalty?" Dela Rosa said.

Senator Manny Pacquaio likewise opined that reviving the death penalty, which was abolished in the country during the Arroyo administration in 2006, would dissuade people from committing heinous crimes.

"Alam kasi ng mga kriminal at mga utak kriminal na makukulong lamang sila kapag gumawa sila ng karumal-dumal na krimen," he said in a separate statement.

"Bigyan sana ulit natin ng pagkakataon itong death penalty dahil sa tingin ko, ito na lang ang kulang upang magiging mabilis at magiging epektibo ang ating pagbibigay ng hustisya sa ating kababayang biktima ng mga heinous crimes," he added.

On Sunday, Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca shot dead Sonya Rufino Gregorio and her son Frank Anthony in broad daylight in Paniqui, Tarlac after a heated argument.

Nuezca has since surrendered to the authorities and has been indicted for two counts of murder.

'Compelling case'

Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. earlier aired the same sentiment and said the shooting incident in Tarlac is a "compelling case for the reinstitution of the death penalty."

On the other hand, Senator Joel Villanueva said that, for him, there is a prerequisite for the reimposition of the capital punishment in the country.

"You can only convince me if we have a working and efficient justice system," he said in a separate message to reporters.

At least four death penalty bills are pending in the Senate.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairperson of the Senate committee on justice, has expressed reluctance to conduct hearings on these bill as he is opposed to death penalty.

But he said he would not let Dela Rosa lead the hearings either even though the latter volunteered to do so through a justice subcommittee.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, is open to the reimposition of death penalty only for high-level drug traffickers.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri also appealed to the House of Representatives to fast-track the approval of the counterpart measure of a Senate Bill No. 1055, which seeks to establish a separate facility for inmates who committed heinous crimes.

"A life in isolation is a fitting punishment to these murderers, drug lords, rapists and plunderers. We truly need these type of Maximum Security Prisons as a deterrent to would-be heinous criminals," he said.

The upper chamber already approved the said measure in December 2019 but similar bills in the House are still pending at the committee level. — RSJ, GMA News