(Eagle News)–Senator Ronald dela Rosa on Thursday, Aug. 22, clarified he himself wants former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez hanged because of his crime.
A visibly irked Dela Rosa made the statement during a Senate hearing on the proposal to make ROTC mandatory to select students, after a resource person, Raoul Manuel, President of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, hit him for his statement the former mayor, who was convicted of the rape and murder of University of the Philippines Los Baños student Aileen Sarmenta and the murder of her friend Allan Gomez in the 1990s, deserves a “second chance.”
“Did you know na ako mismo gusto kong bitayin yang Sanchez na yan? ” Dela Rosa said.
According to Dela Rosa, he was for the death penalty in the country.
He said if death penalty had been allowed then, Sanchez would have been imposed the sentence.
“Pero, kayo naman ayaw ninyo ng death penalty. Ngayon bigyan ng second chance dahil nareform na yung tao, according to the computation eligible siya for pardon, ayaw naman ninyo,” Dela Rosa shouted.
“Saan na kami pupunta??! Anong klase yan?? Gusto ko ng death penalty, ayaw niyo, ngayon irelease yan dahil walang death penalty, titirahin nanaman ninyo ako,” Dela Rosa explained.
In the first place, Dela Rosa said it was not him who passed the law that could allow for Sanchez to be released.
He was referring to Republic Act 10592 that increased the Good Conduct Time Allowance given to inmates.
The law was passed during the time of then-President Noynoy Aquino in 2013.
Earlier, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Sanchez and over 10,000 other inmates “may” be released soon after the Supreme Court in June ruled RA 10592 should be applied retroactively to include inmates who were meted out a final judgement before the enactment of the law.
“Eligible siya (Sanchez) by operation of law,” Dela Rosa said.
The resource person apologized.
