By Roy Pelovello and Joel M. Sy Egco

THE controversy generated by the case of the ?Alabang Boys? sparked a new round of debates in the House of Representatives on the reimposition of the death penalty.

Dangerous Drugs Board chairman and former senator Vicente Sotto III, as well as Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Dionisio Santiago were one in supporting the restoration of the death penalty against drug pushers.

After launching the DDB?s 24-hour action center, Sotto said he favors a lighter penalties for drug users since these people ?are victims themselves.?

Santiago, for his part, said drug pushers should suffer the harshest punishment.

?This is very urgent because the problem of illegal drugs is now a threat to national security,? the PDEA chief said. He did not elaborate.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon said he would file a bill reimposing the death penalty. ?You see, even if they are behind bars they are normally able to continue their illegal business.?

?Unlike murderers or rapists who may be reformed, drug lords have the capacity to live comfortable lives in prison while business goes on,? Biazon said.

?When Congress passed the law repealing death penalty, I had expressed on record my desire that drug trafficking remains punishable with death,? he added. Congress abolished the death penalty in June 2006.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles also said he is in favor of imposing the death penalty on drug traffickers.

Other lawmakers like Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and Para?aque City Rep. Roilo Golez opposed the reimposition.

Lagman said the knee-jerk reactions to drug cases against the ?Alabang Boys? do not justify the reimposition of the death penalty.

Lagman said the abolition of the death penalty was hinged on the fact that it was not proven to be a deterrent to committing crimes.

Golez likewise said he does not in favor reimposing the death penalty even if it is only for drug traffickers. ?I am now a pro-life advocate through and through in the House.?

Meanwhile, Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco said he would file a bill to amend part of the Revised Penal Code penalizing judges who issue unjust decisions and prosecutors who are not doing their jobs properly.

Cuenco proposed that erring judges and prosecutors should be imprisoned from 12 to 20 years instead of the six to 12 years imprisonment under the law.

Golez said there is already a law penalizing such conduct, particularly in drug cases, under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Act of 2002.

?Prosecutors, judges and other officials who help drug offender go scot-free should be considered for prosecution under Section 3, Article 1, of RA 9165? which imposes prison sentences for those identified as coddlers and protectors, Golez said.

RA 9165 penalizes drug coddlers or protectors with 12 years and one day to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from P100,000 to P500,000.