By Edward Chaykovsky
Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao is once against pushing for a law that would impose the death penalty on drug traffickers in the Philippines.
Pacquiao, who last year became a senator in his country, once again defended the controversial bill on Tuesday during the first public hearing of the Senate justice and human rights committee on the proposed death penalty bill.
“Drug traffickers deserve the death penalty. We need to take a firm stand against drug traffickers. On a personal level, I can forgive. However, the heinous crime of drug trafficking is committed not just against a person, but against the nation. Drug traffickers deserve the death penalty,” Pacquiao said, according to GMA News.
Pacquiao, who one aspires to become the President of the Philippines, is the author of three death penalty bills on crimes involving drugs, kidnapping, and aggravated rape.
"There is now a need to enact a measure that will decisively repress drug trafficking,” Pacquiao said. “We cannot ignore the immensity of the drug problem in our country. We cannot maintain the status quo. We need to take a firm stand against drug traffickers."
As far as his fighting career, the loose ends are coming together for an April defense of the WBO welterweight title. His promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, is putting the finishing touches on a planned fight against undefeated 2012 Australian Olympian Jeff Horn (16-0-1, 11 KOs). The fight would take place on April 22 (April 23 in Australia), with Brisbane in the running to host the bout.
Pacquiao returned to the ring last November, when he captured the WBO world titles from once-beaten Jessie Vargas at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
He wants to have at least two fights in 2017 and then two more in 2018, before evaluating the future of his boxing career.