Bato seeks to refile death penalty bill vs drug traffickers if reelected

Reelectionist Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said he would refile a bill that he has long been pushing, which seeks to reimpose capital punishment for high-level drug traffickers due to alleged resurgence of heinous crimes in the country.

Dela Rosa, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the Duterte administration and was the chief implementer of the war on drugs, said he believes that death penalty would be the “solution” for the country’s drug problem.

“Kung sakaling papalarin, ipa-file ko pa rin ulit kagaya itong walang kamatayang death penalty for high-level drug traffickers. Hindi kasama dito ‘yung mga small-time na mga pusher diyan sa kalsada, drug pusher. Ito 'yung mga big-time, 'yung mga malakihan,” the incumbent senator said in a radio interview.

(If I win, I will refile the death penalty bill again for high-level drug traffickers. This does not include the small-time drug pushers who you can find in the streets. These are only for the big-time and large-scale drug traffickers.)

“Hindi makalusot-lusot dahil nga medyo kontrobersyal. But still, I truly believe, I’m really convinced na kung ito ay makapasa ay ito ang magiging solusyon sa mga problema na kinakaharap ng ating bansa ngayon," he added.

(The bill couldn’t be passed into law because it's a bit controversial. But still, I truly believe, I'm really convinced that if it gets approved, it will be the solution to the problems our country is currently facing today.)

In 2019, Dela Rosa filed Senate Bill 226, aiming for the reimposition of the death penalty for crimes involving illegal drugs.

He pushed for the same measure in 2022 under the 19th Congress. That same year, he said he would not hesitate to ask President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to certify the death penalty bill for high-level drug traffickers as urgent if he would be given a chance to talk with the chief executive.

Dela Rosa, who is a known ally of the Duterte family, stressed that an iron-fist approach should be implemented to combat crimes.

“Alam niyo ‘yung kahindik-hindik na krimen, mga heinous crimes na ‘yan, magagawa nila ‘yan kapag sila’y wala sa tamang pag-iisip at sila ay under the influence of drugs,” he said.

(These heinous crimes could be done if the perpetrators are not in their right mind and they are under the influence of drugs.)

“Sa kampanya na ito, hindi mo matatalo itong ilegal na droga through petiks-petiks approach or padisente-disente approach or ‘yung you treat this problem with kid gloves. Kailangan talaga kamay na bakal ang gamit mo dito. Hindi pupwedeng hindi mo gamitan ng kamay na bakal, otherwise, tatawanan ka lang nitong mga sindikato na ito. Kailangan seryosohin natin ito," he continued.

(In this campaign, you can’t obliterate the drug problem through an easy and decent approach or if you treat this with kid gloves. You really need an iron first here, otherwise, these syndicates would just laugh at you. We need to take this seriously.)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating former President Rodrigo Duterte and other top officials of his administration for crimes against humanity over the alleged systematic drug war deaths in police operations.

These deaths reached around 6,000 based on police records, but human rights groups contend that the deaths were as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings.

Dela Rosa had described himself as the "number 2 accused" in the drug war probe of the ICC. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.