Bato tells public: Don't fear Tokhang, be happy

People should not fear the Philippine National Police's (PNP) Oplan Tokhang, instead they should be happy, top cop Director General Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said Tuesday.

“Dapat hindi sila matakot. Dapat masaya sila, at least ina-address ‘yung problema nila sa droga sa kanilang barangay,” Dela Rosa told Unang Balita in an interview.

Before the resumption of the PNP's Oplan Tokhang on Monday, Dela Rosa released guidelines for policemen who will be involved in the "knock-and-plead" operation where suspected drug personalities are visited by the authorities to convince them to shun the illegal trade or undergo rehabilitation.

The PNP chief said the relaunched Oplan Tokhang is now more transparent.

During the relaunching of the operation, Dela Rosa said it is impossible to have a bloodless war on drugs.

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

He said that while local government units were initially unprepared for the first round of Oplan Tokhang, they are now equipped with “community-based drug rehabilitation programs” to cater to surrenderees.

Under the new supplemental guidelines of Oplan Tokhang released last week, knock-and-plead operations can only be conducted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays.

Body cameras and video recording gadgets are encouraged, and a representative from the barangay council, human rights group, or religious sector are required.

The documentation of surrenderees, including the taking of mugshots and fingerprints, is voluntary.

Dela Rosa clarified that the government's anti-illegal drugs campaign is composed of two levels: police operations against "high-value targets," which center on the "supply side" of the drug trade, and Oplan Tokhang, which focuses on the "demand side."

He reiterated his invitation to the media to join Tokhang operations, to be carried out by trained "police community relations experts" or “Tokhangers” in the interest of transparency.

He also said the targets of the new Oplan Tokhang are those who have not been previously apprehended. He added that drug suspects who have taken up old habits even after being visited by cops can “expect” another round of Tokhang.

Suspects who are minors will be treated in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Law, which Dela Rosa said “doesn’t prevent us from talking to them.”

The PNP was the lead agency in the government's drug war when it was launched by President Rodrigo Duterte in July 2016.

It had been ordered twice to take the backseat after controversial cases, including the killings of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo and teenagers Kian Loyd delos Santos, Karl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo de Guzman.

Duterte told the PNP to rejoin the war on drugs in December 2017.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is currently the lead agency in the war on drugs. —Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/ALG, GMA News