MANILA, Philippines - After slapping a suspected Chinese drug dealer last week, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista on Monday called for a revisiting of the country's death penalty law.
In a phone-patch interview on Mornings@ANC, Bautista noted that some members of the public who reacted to the arrest of the Chinese drug dealer wanted to revive the controversial punishment.
"I am hoping that Congress will revisit the issue of death penalty especially on drug-related cases," Bautista said.
Bautista added that he can propose the move to former Quezon City mayor and now House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
He also hoped that Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas will be "vigilant in pushing for the death penalty" and in pursuing people and organizations behind the illegal drug trade.
"Nakakasira talaga ng pamilya ang droga," Bautista said.
Meantime, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Etta Rosales said there is no evidence proving that death penalty in fact reduces criminality.
"The best solution is the certainty of arrest, investigation, the certainty of prosecution, conviction and penalty. That, to me, is what we should focus on," Rosales told ANC and Bautista.
The CHR chief said the present global trend in human rights is the abolition of the death penalty and the strengthening of restorative justice.
Bautista agreed with Rosales, clarifying that he only wants lawmakers to look into the issue.
The mayor recently apologized to Rosales after he slapped on Friday a Chinese national who was caught with 10 kilos of shabu, with a street value of P15 million. - Louis Bacani
Read: Bautista apologizes for slapping drug suspect