Bato: House-to-house similar to tokhang? Both COVID-19, illegal drugs reached ‘pandemic’ levels

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa on Wednesday said the common denominator of the house-to-house search for COVID-19 patients and of "tokhang" is that both are aimed to address problems of great magnitude.

"Its similarity with tokhang is that it is trying to address problems, [illegal] drugs and COVID-19, both of which have reached pandemic proportions," Dela Rosa, chair of the Senate committee on public order, said in a message.

A former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who led the administration's war on drugs, Dela Rosa said the role of cops can be limited in the house-to-house search to avoid being accused again of "militarizing" responses to a health issue.

"If the DOH (Department of Health) and LGUs (local government units) have enough manpower to do the house to house clearing of suspected COVID-19 patients in every barangay, then the PNP’s participation can be reduced to providing security to the searching teams," he said.

On Tuesday, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said cops, together with the local government, will go house-to-house to check if there are asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases who need to be transferred to government-run isolation facilities.

Some senators likened it to "tokhang" and even raised caution that the practice may go against the bill of rights.

Malacañang, on the other hand, said there will be no house-to-house search. Patients not qualified for home quarantine will be escorted only after such have been reported.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said explaining implications of having COVID-19, including the invitation to stay in quarantine facilities would be best left to medical experts, not state security forces.

"'Yung pagsundo din is a medical exercise, by people donning full PPE, following safety protocols, para hindi rin mag-bahay-bahay si corona, and not by those in full battle gear, because it is wrong to assume that these law-abiding citizens will resist relocation," he said in a statement.

"Minsan maganda ang layunin, sabit lang ang pagpapaliwanag," he added. — RSJ, GMA News