Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7). | file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, director of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), supports the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to revive the death penalty.
Duterte, in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27, 2020, called on the lawmakers to “swiftly” pass the law reimposing the death penalty for crimes specified by the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Read: SONA 2020: Duterte calls for death penalty revival anew
In a phone conference with the reporters on Tuesday morning, July 28, Ferro said that the death penalty will be a boost in the bid to minimize crimes, especially among the drug personalities who continue to operate despite getting arrested and jailed.
“I fully support that because that is a deterrent for all drug traffickers… We should encourage the passing of that law,” said Ferro.
According to Ferro, the death penalty may lessen the confidence of drug traders to operate. He also believes it will discourage the illegal drug protectors to be part of the illegal drug trade.
“Dili man gud mo proliferate ning mga illegal drugs kung walay naga protect. Those protectors should also be punished with that kind of law because parang di na sila natakot ba,” Said Ferro.
(Illegal drugs won’t proliferate without those who are protecting. Those protectors should also be punished with that kind of law because it seems they are not afraid.)
For those critics of the death penalty, Ferro said they shouldn’t worry as it would be one of the laws that would protect them.
He said it is not true that the death penalty will victimize the poor as the law applies both to the rich and the poor, proof of which is seen in jails, where even police and government officials are convicted.
Read: Peoples’ lawyers slam ‘anti-poor’ call for death penalty
“The law applies to all,” said Ferro. /bmjo