PNP hits 1M mark in number of houses visited under Oplan Tokhang

The Philippine National Police has already breached the 1 million mark in the number of houses visited as part of the Duterte administration's intensified campaign against illegal drugs.

As of 6 a.m. on Tuesday, September 20, a total of 1,077,582 houses have been visited since July 1 to date which resulted in the surrender of 715,699 drug suspects. Of this figure, 662,594 were users and 53,105 were pushers.

Under Oplan Tokhang, police personnel knock on the houses of drug suspects and appeal to them to surrender.

The PNP also conducted modified Oplan Tokhang in exclusive villages and condominiums where they knocked at the houses and distributed pamphlets on the ill effects of illegal drugs.

A total of 18,814 operations have also been conducted which resulted in the deaths of 1,167 drug suspects and the arrest of 18,064 others.

The PNP is looking at having the estimated 1.8 million drug suspects in the country surrender to authorities in the first six months of the administration in compliance with the campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte.

However, Duterte, seeing the gravity of the drug problem, sought for an extension of another six months to rid the country of illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, the PNP is now investigating 1,651 cases of deaths, including those found on the street with cardboard signs stating that the person was a pusher or user.

Of the 1,960 incidents that happened since July 1, a total of 309 cases have been filed, 196 of which were considered solved as the suspect has been arrested while the suspects are still at large in 113 other cases. —KG, GMA News