By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Exasperated by the brazen criminalities due to the absence of capital punishment, Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Friday (27 September 2024) called for the revival of death penalty as a deterrent for heinous crimes, including drug trafficking and extra-judicial killings (EJKs).
Barbers, who currently serves as overall chairman of the House Quad Committee, made the call during his opening statement at the seventh public hearing of the joint panel tasked with investigating the links between illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), the proliferation of the illicit drug trade, land grabbing by certain Chinese nationals, and the EJKs associated with the Duterte administration’s brutal war on drugs.
“Naging urong-sulong po tayo sa usaping death penalty noong mga nakalipas na panahon. Tingnan n’yo ang nangyari. Sumama po lalo ang naging lagay ng ating kapayapaan at kaayusan. Hindi na takot ang mga kriminal. Lantaran ang ginawang pamamaslang na ngayon ay tinawag nating extrajuducial killings,” Barbers lamented.
He pointed out the necessity for a review of the revival of the death penalty for heinous crimes, alongside the passage of key legislative reforms aimed at dismantling criminal syndicates, holding corrupt officials accountable, and restoring peace and order in the country.
In the course of the House Quad Comm investigation, in aid of legislation, into drug-related EJKs under the Duterte administration, the panel has exposed law enforcement officers serving as “hired killers,” carrying out executions based solely on suspicions of drug involvement.
Barbers noted that these killings were driven by financial incentives, with officers receiving rewards for each death, as long as the victim was labeled a “drug personality.”
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