Bato renews call for death penalty amid alleged rising drug use

Reelectionist Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has reiterated his call for the reimposition of the death penalty for high-level drug traffickers, expressing concern over what he called the increasing trend of individuals openly showcasing illegal drug use on social media platforms.

“Alam niyo, nakakalungkot po ang nangyayari ngayon, tingnan ninyo, everyday sa social media, makita ninyo, very proud itong mga adik. Bina-vlog pa nila ‘yung kanilang paggagamit ng shabu. Nakita niyo ‘yon? Kahit saan-saan, nagkakalat, gumagamit ng shabu! Ang yabang nila, pinagyayabang nila to the whole world na gumagamit silang shabu,” he lamented.

(It's disheartening to see that every day on social media, users proudly display their shabu consumption, even vlogging their activities. Did you see that? Everywhere, spreading, using shabu! They are arrogant and keep bragging that they're using it.)

He said that this behavior may lead to the normalization of drug use.

"Ano ngayon ang maitatanim sa utak ng kabataan? Uy, sikat pala ngayon kapag gumagamit ka ng shabu. Kumikita ka pa, may content ka, content creator ka, yumayaman ka dahil maraming views, kumikita ka. At iisipin ng mga bata, natural lang ‘yan, normal lang ‘yan. So anong magiging kinabukasan ng Pilipinas? Wala na. Lugmok tayo dito sa problema natin sa illegal drugs. I don’t know kung saan tayo pupunta dito. Bakit gano’n ang nangyari?" said the senator.

(What will the youth think? Hey, it's popular now if you use shabu. You make money, you have content, you're a content creator, and you get rich because you have a lot of views. And the children will think that's natural, that's normal. So what will the future of the Philippines be like? I don't know where we are going from here. Why did this happen?)

With this, he urged community leaders to collaborate in addressing this issue and to support legislative measures aimed at deterring drug-related offenses.

GMA News Online is still trying to get the data regarding the alleged trend of individuals openly showcasing illegal drug use on social media platforms.

As early as 2022, Dela Rosa filed a bill seeking the penalty of death against convicted large-scale drug traffickers. 

"Based on personal experience, nakausap ko talaga yung mga drug lord doon sa loob ng Bilibid at isa sa kanilang rekomendasyon para talagang mahinto yung drug trafficking sa ating bansa ay kailangan talagang bitayin yung mga drug lord na nagta-traffic ng droga dito sa ating bansa.  'Yun ang sabi nila," Dela Rosa said in 2022.

"Kasi kung hindi bitayin, nakakulong lang sila sa loob ng Bilibid, nandu’n pa rin. Continue pa rin yung kanilang negosyo. Walang hinto. So kung binitay 'yan, tapos na. Hindi na makapagpatuloy," he added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News

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