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| PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica. (Photo from: Presidential Communications) |
[아시아뉴스통신=조날드 타파난 기자] The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has renewed its call for the death penalty for corrupt officials after President Rodrigo Duterte himself brought it up during his fifth and penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 27. PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica urged the Congress to reinstate capital punishment for corrupt officials, saying corruption is as bad as murder and as bad as illegal drugs because it also leaves a lasting effect on victims.
Corruption should be considered a "heinous crime” because it sucks public funds dry, leaving Filipinos poverty-stricken. In his SONA last Monday, Duterte asked Congress to pass a law reviving the death penalty for drug-related crimes. "I reiterate the swift passage of the law reviving the death penalty by lethal injection for crimes specified under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002," Duterte stated.
Last Tuesday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said lawmakers are unlikely to pass a measure reinstating the death penalty during the current session unless it will be applied to convicted drug lords.
