Bloodless war on drugs? Impossible, says Bato dela Rosa

While assuring that they will do everything to make the war on drugs less bloody, Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa admitted Monday that it is impossible to conduct it without any bloodshed.

Dela Rosa said he would give up his post if there is a commander who could do the anti-drug war without any bloodshed.

“Bigyan n’yo ako ng kung sino pwede gawin yan, sinong commander ang pwede gumawa n’yan at I am willing to give up my post kung masabi n’yo merong tao dyan na pwedeng or maging successful tayo sa anti-drug na walang mamatay. That’s impossible,” he said at a press conference.

“Basta kami we are just giving you the assurance na lahat ay gagawin namin talaga na maging less bloody itong ating anti-drug campaign because we are not dealing with tao na nasa tamang pag iisip,” he added.

Dela Rosa’s remarks came following the statement of Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles urging the PNP to follow proper procedures in its revamped anti-drug operations and ensure that Tokhang activities will not “waste any lives.” 

“We pray that the police follow the prescribed steps in implementing the law… steps that should be done in exercising their responsibility as policemen,” Valles was quoted as saying in an article posted on the CBCP website.

But Dela Rosa said the reaction of the police depends on the move of the drug suspects.

“Alam mo naman ‘yang dugo na ‘yan that’s dependent sa reaction ng mga drug personalities. Alangan naman pabayaan namin sarili namin na mamatay kami kung armado at makipagbarilan ‘yung drug personality,” Dela Rosa said.

He said if the PNP can only control the minds of the drug suspects for them to immediately surrender to police, there would be no shed of blood during operation.

“Kung pwede natin susian ‘yung mga utak ng mga drug personalities na please huwag sana kayo maging violent, huwag kayong lumaban para walang dugo na dumanak sa ating anti-drug operations, mas maganda sana pero very volatile ang situation sa ground,” he said.

The PNP chief if they have control over the situation, there would be no drug problem in the first place.

“Hindi talaga natin makontrol kaya merong drug problem and we are trying to address this problem. On the way of addressing this problem, we also have to protect ourselves, preserve our own life, and life of the people that's why I cannot give you 100 percent or foolproof anti-drug campaign na magiging bloodless,” he said.

Oplan Tokhang

As of January 17, a total of 3,987 drug suspects have been killed in anti-illegal drug operations while 119,361 have been arrested. Around 1.3 million drug suspects have surrendered.

The PNP resumed Monday its Oplan Tokhang and anti-illegal drug operations with the issuance of supplemental guidelines meant to correct the mistakes in the past campaign.

“While we recognize some oversight that beset our campaign in the past, and we are responsive to the dysfunctions in systems and procedures that we earnestly seek to correct. I remain optimistic with the prospect of less bloody anti-drug operations this time around by prescribing supplemental operational guidelines when conducting law enforcement operations against drug personalities,” he said.

He added the supplemental guidelines are founded on the fundamental principles of respect for human rights and strict adherence to the rule of law, with greater emphasis on transparency, accountability, and command responsibility.

He said Tokhang operations shall be intelligence-driven, targeting suspected illegal drug personalities listed by the Directorate for Intelligence.

“I express optimism that this time, police interdiction operations against illegal drugs will be carried out with greater efficiency, and with less violent confrontations between law enforcers and offenders through better equipment to ensure the personal safety of our personnel, such as body armor, body camera, communications and fire suppression, complemented by skills training and enhanced capacity,” he said. — RSJ, GMA News