Senator Ronald dela Rosa on Sunday said that the Senate is working overtime to pass priority legislation before its break for the campaign period.
“It will only be a short time before the 19th Congress adjourns, so we are working hard to finalize our priority legislation. I hope we can complete this before we break for the campaign period and finish the bills that are currently being debated,” he said during a radio interview.
“We have a lot on our plate right now, which is why our sessions often extend late into the night—sometimes until midnight—as we strive to discuss important legislation that needs to be passed,” dela Rosa added.
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs and vice chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, Dela Rosa said he is focusing on his proposed legislations.
“We don’t pretend to be a know-it-all, do-it-all legislator. I will work hard, and if we are fortunate enough to continue into the next Congress, I will reintroduce my priority bills, which can be considered quite controversial due to significant opposition,” he said.
Dela Rosa specifically cited his death penalty bill for high-level drug traffickers, which he hopes will garner enough support in the upcoming 20th Congress should he win in his re-election bid.
“Regardless of their objections, I believe this bill is crucial based on my experience as a former director of the Bureau of Corrections. It was there that I truly realized the necessity of implementing the death penalty for high-level drug traffickers, as I frequently interacted with convicted Chinese drug lords inside the prison,” he said.
Dela Rosa revealed that Chinese drug lords told him that while the market for illegal drugs in the Philippines is comparatively lower than neighboring countries, the lack of death penalty is why criminal organizations deem the country as low-risk for illegal drug trade.
“They are back again, so our government really needs to take the war on drugs seriously. You cannot wage a war on drugs with kid gloves,” he concluded.