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Business
Friday, February 8,2OI9
Death penalty provision in drugs bill deleted
BY WE]IDELL VIGILIA
THE House of Representatives
testerday deleted the death penalty
provision from a consolidated bill
seeking to impose stiffet peoal-
ties on tlose who wi.ll be found
possessing illegal drugs at parties,
social gathetings, and meetings.
The plenary on Monday ap-
proved on 6nal reading House
BilI No. 8909 but withdtew its
passage on Wednesday after
House leaders found out that
death penalty was not deleted
from the final version.
The measure also listed Speaker
Gloria Arrol'o as one of the princi-
Insght
pal authors even if she is staundrly
against the re-imposition of capital
punishment. Arroyo was temoved
as depuq speaker in March 2O1.7
after she voted against the Palace
backed bill seeking to re impose
the deattr penalty on &ug-related
heinous crimes,
The consolidated bill seeLs to
impose the maximum pena.lty of
"life imprisonmenC' on all viola-
tols.
Majoritl leader Fredenil Casto
said the measure will be reverted
to r.oting for passage on second
reading
'qXb decided to reconsider linal
reading approval in order to cla.d$'
n pAqe-6st/
provisions of the bill that refer to
the death penalty This rr,-ili prer.ent
double or multiple interpretation
of the death penain prorisions
that might mislead Filipinos into
believing that deatl seotence has
been restored," he said.
The bill was substiruted v'ith
another measure that contains
no death penaln prorision and
was approved on second reading
yesterday.
"In order to be clear. *'e ate
going to amend bl substirution,
erasing all pror-isions that refet
to death penalg', \\'e hare to be
categorical that the maximum
penalty to be imposed is reclusion
petpetua or life imprisonment,"
said Castro.
HB 8909 seeks to strengthen
the government's war on drugs b1.
amending Republic Acr No. 9i65
or the Comptehensive Dangerous
Drugs Act of 2002.
The measure also seeks to ex-
pand the deinition of drug traf-
ficking as the "illegal cultir,ztion,
culture, delivety, administration,
dispensation, manufacture, sale,
trading, ttansportation, distribu
tion, importation, exportation,
chemical divenion, aod possession
of any dangerous drug and/or
controlled precursor and essential
chemical."