JAN.

27, 2014

NR # 3359B

Death penalty for foreign nationals in drug-related crimes sought

A lawmaker today underscored the need to ensure that foreign nationals caught violating our laws be convicted and meted the harshest penalties, including death, that their countries laws impose. While there is no reason to question the laws of foreign countries, we must ensure that our countrymen do not suffer the short end of the stick, ep. ufus odrigue! "# nd $istrict, %agayan de &ro %ity' insists. With ep. (a)imo odrigue! "*arty+list, Abante (indanao' as his co+author, the %agayan de &ro lawmaker urged the passage of ,- .#./ or An Act adopting the higher prescribed penalty, including death, of the national law of an alien found guilty of trafficking dangerous drugs and other similar substances, amending for the purpose .A. 0o. 1.23, otherwise known as the %omprehensive $angerous $rugs Act of #44#. 5he authors also noted arguments against .A. 1/62 which abolished the death penalty in the country, saying many foreign national are now emboldened to establish their drug factories in the *hilippines. &nce convicted, these foreign nationals only suffer life imprisonment as opposed to the penalties that they suffer in their own countries which, in some cases like china, is death, they pointed out. 5he authors also cited constant reports of foreign nationals, including %hinese nationals, being caught selling drugs and operating drug dens and laboratories in the *hilippines. And once caught and convicted, the penalty that our courts could impose is only life imprisonment. 5his is a sad, or even unfair situation, because when 7ilipinos are caught drug trafficking abroad, they may be meted the death penalty, as seen in the most recent e)ecution of the three 7ilipinos in %hina, namely 8li!abeth -atain, /9 years old, :ally &rdinario+;illanueva, /#, and amon %redo, 6#, the authors said. <ust last <uly /, #4./, odrigue! recalled, a /3+year+old 7ilipina was e)ecuted despite pleas from the *hilippine government. :he was caught last <anuary #3, #4.. with 2..19 kilos of heroin in her luggage at the ,ang!hou =nternational Airport and was sentenced to death in #4... While the rationale for the passage of .A. 1/62 "abolition of the death penalty' was very clear and noble, there are some sectors of society who believe that this law is not >ust and equitable because while foreigners may not be e)ecuted in the *hilippines for

drug trafficking, 7ilipinos who commit the same are e)ecuted in other >urisdictions, they argued. =t may be noted that ,- .#./ was originally introduced as ,- 63.4 by the same authors during the .3th %ongress and was passed by the ,ouse of epresentatives and transmitted to the :enate where it died a natural death. :ection . of ,- .#./ states that? =f the violator of any of the provisions of this Act is alien, the penalty to be imposed shall be the penalty prescribed by the aliens national law for the act committed or the penalty prescribed by this Act, whichever is higher? *rovided, that if the act committed is not punishable in the aliens national law, then the provisions of this Act shall apply. 7urthermore, the said :ection states that? Where the death penalty is not imposed by the national law of the offender, for the unlawful act committed, any alien who violates such provisions of this Act, after service of sentence, be deported immediately without further proceedings. 5he penalty of death, if applicable, shall be imposed despite the prohibition of the imposition of the death penalty in the *hilippines, ,- .#./ mandates. "/4' dpt