Duterte urges return of death penalty in SONA

Credit to Author: ARIC JOHN SY CUA| Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2019 09:36:22 +0000

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has reaffirmed that he was for the reimposition of the death penalty for illegal drugs, heinous crimes, and plunder.

During his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, the chief executive urged lawmakers to reinstate capital punishment.

“I respectfully ask Congress to reinstate death penalty, for heinous crimes related to drugs as well as plunder,” he said.

Duterte admitted that after three years, “since I took my oath of office, it pains me to say that we have not learned our lesson.”

The administration’s so-called “war on drugs” has claimed the lives of 22,000 people, according to Human Rights Watch.

The government’s Real Numbers platform under the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has recorded about 5,000.