President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday has reiterated his support for the revival of death penalty as deterrence against the commission of heinous crimes.”
In his speech during Manila Times business forum where he was awarded the “Man of the Year Award,” Duterte said that immediately after the death penalty was abolished, the number of heinous crimes increased by of 3,180%.
Duterte took out his briefer on the death penalty in his speech to read out figures citing media reports on congressional deliberations regarding the issue.
According to the Bureau of Corrections, the number of people convicted of heinous crimes after the abolition of the death penalty in 2006 rose by 3,180%.
“BuCor Director Benjamin delos Santos said there were 189 inmates convicted of heinous crimes before the capital punishment was abolished in 2006,” read Duterte.
Duterte continued that the figure increased to 6,200 inmates after the death penalty was revoked.
The President added that his administration would be “more effective” in law enforcement compared to the previous administrations once if the death penalty would be revived.
“They said, when the death penalty was there, nothing happened; it is because I wasn’t the President then,” Duterte pointed out.
Duterte suggested to bring death penalty back as a form of capital punishment.
“Ibalik mo ‘yan, ako pa yung presidente, gawin kong kurtina ‘yang mga buwang diyan sa puno. Bitayin mo,” said Duterte.
Since the presidential campaign, Duterte has declared support for the return of the death penalty as a way of “exacting retribution.”
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Senator Manny Pacquiao, have filed bills seeking the revival of the death penalty.
