Bill imposing death on foreign drug traffickers pushed

MANILA, Philippines - A lawmaker renewed yesterday his call for the immediate passage of a bill imposing death penalty on foreigners convicted of drug trafficking in the Philippines.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez made the call as Vietnam last week sentenced to death a 61-year-old Filipina for possession of shabu.

Rodriguez said House Bill 4510, which he authored, is set to be approved by the House committee on justice.

He said the measure “will bring reciprocity and fairness in the international community.”

“Example is China and Vietnam. Our people who go there, they are executed but the Chinese when they come here and operate illegal drug trade here, they are not executed,” Rodriguez told reporters.

“I support death penalty only for foreigners who are into drugs to make it equitable,” he added.

Although he considers human life as sacred, Rodriguez said there is an urgent need for the country to bring reciprocity in its laws and those carried out by other countries in connection with drug cases.

He said the lack of death penalty in the Philippines against foreign drug traffickers is one of the reasons why the illegal drug trade continues to thrive in the country.

“The drug lords, the drug manufacturers, they come to Manila because they know they will not be executed. Our country is becoming a haven of this destructive and pervasive drug problem,” he added.