Philippines’ Manny Pacquiao calls for death by firing squad for drug criminals

In the past seven weeks, 21 bills have been filed in Manila to reinstate the death penalty at the behest of President Rodrigo Duterte

Pacquiao, a senator and staunch Duterte loyalist, said the country needs to reintroduce executions to deter big drug syndicates

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Filipino boxer and Senator Manny Pacquiao. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00pm, 9 Sep 2019Updated: 3:56pm, 10 Sep 2019

If he gets his way, Filipino senator and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao would have drug criminals executed by firing squad.

That is getting closer to becoming a reality in the Philippines, where in the past seven weeks, 21 bills have been filed before the lower house and Senate to reinstate the death penalty, collectively covering crimes ranging from drug trafficking and plunder to kidnapping, rape and murder.

It comes at the behest of President Rodrigo Duterte, the popular, self-styled “punisher”, notorious for his crackdowns on crime, and a war on drugs that has killed thousands of mostly poor, urban Filipinos.

Pacquiao, a staunch Duterte loyalist and the only boxer to win world titles in eight divisions, believes executions are the best deterrent for big drug syndicates.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: AP

“We need it. In Asia, we are one of the few countries without a death penalty, so a lot of drug lords, pushers came in. It is alarming,” said Pacquiao, who enjoys rock-star appeal among Filipinos, and is being touted as a future president.

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