Relatives of ‘Tokhang’ victims decry inequality in treatment of drug suspects

Amid the Senate investigation into the “ninja cops” mess, the mothers of three victims of “Oplan Tokhang” operations decried the blatant difference in the treatment of poor and rich drug suspects.

Suspected drug personalities from poor areas are killed on the spot while policemen involved in drug recycling go scot-free, the bereaved mothers told Dano Tingcungco in his Wednesday report for State of the Nation with Jessica Soho.

“Unti unti na rin pong maliliwanagan kung saan talaga nagmumula yung droga. Kasi kaming mahirap lagi ang biktima e. Masakit sa’kin marinig na collateral damage ‘yung aking anak,” said Emily Aquino, whose 15-year-old son Angelito was killed in anti-illegal drugs operations in Caloocan City on December 28, 2016.

“‘Yung mga droga na ‘yan, ‘yung mga nababalitaan na may nahuling droga, may nakuha, pero hindi naman binalita kung saan ‘yan dinadala. ‘Yun pala, ngayon lumalabas na ni-re-recycle pala nila ‘yun para ibenta ulit,” added Llore Lozano whose sons Crisanto and Juan Carlos were killed on May 12, 2017.

The mothers are part of the group Rise Up Against EJKs (extra-judicial killings), a support group for relatives of Tokhang victims. They also filed a complaint against the administration’s war on drugs at the International Criminal Court.

They are also hoping that the revelation of ninja cops will help speed up the cases they filed against police.

Purisima Dacumos, whose husband Danilo was killed in their Caloocan home on August 3, 2017 by a cop whom she knows, appealed to the policemen involved in drug recycling to admit their crimes.

“‘Wag na silang magpaligoy-ligoy pa ng mga batikos nila sa Senado o anuman. Aminin na nila na talagang gingawa nila ‘yun. Kawawa naman kaming mga mahihirap na nabibiktima ng droga,” she said.

The Philippine National Police has previously claimed that they continuously clean their ranks of deviant cops. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BAP, GMA News