former Philippine president Joseph Estrada joined calls to revive the death penalty, only for convicted illegal drug pushers and users

former Philippine president Joseph Estrada joined calls to revive the death penalty, only for convicted illegal drug pushers and users. "Drug trafficking in itself is worse than a heinous crime because it destroys the future of our youth," Estrada said in a statement. "The amounts involved in the briberies that take place in this business are so huge that government officials find it hard to resist. It therefore becomes imperative for the law to impose the death penalty on these drug traffickers to put a stop to drug trafficking," he said. Estrada said the extreme penalty would be proper because it has even become a "major cause of corruption of high government officials, especially law enforcement officers." "When there is a family member who is a drug user or addict, the whole family is affected. The financial and emotional implications are severe," he added.