Duterte’s anti-scalawag unit eyes ‘tokhang’ on errant cops

The Philippine National Police (PNP) unit tasked by President Rodrigo Duterte to go after police scalawags is planning to subject the errant cops to procedures previously reserved for drug personalities.

According to Mariz Umali's report on "24 Oras", the Counter Intelligence Task Force (CITF) is considering conducting Oplan Tokhang on the more than 1,000 suspected police scalawags on its watch list.

Under the original Oplan Tokhang, police officers knock on doors of drug suspects to convince them to turn away from their illegal activities.

However, the term tokhang has developed a connotation of drug suspects getting killed after thousands of deaths have been blamed on President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

"Bakit hindi rin natin siguro subukang tokhangin itong mga kasamahan nating mga pulis na napasama sa watchlist," CITF chief Police Senior Superintendent Romeo Caramat Jr. said.

"Subukan nating makiusap na tigilan na ang kanilang mga gawain at para tuluyang magbago na," he added.

Caramat said that talking with the suspected scalawags would address the fear that those on the watch list would be killed.

Duterte, while addressing police officers implicated in various crimes earlier this week, said he would not hesitate to kill scalawags in the PNP.

He said there was a special unit that would go after the errant police officers, in apparent reference to the CITF, which was formed after policemen were implicated in the death of Korean Jee Ick Joo inside Camp Crame last year.

As of August 9, the CITF has killed four on its watch list, while arresting 87 suspected erring police officers.

"Pag wala na silang ginagawang illegal activities, hinihinto na nila, eh ang probability hindi na sila io-operate. Hindi na sila inu-neutralize," Caramat said.

"In that way, eh wala talagang, pag wala nang manlalaban, wala nang mamamatay," he added.

The PNP's elite Special Action Force (SAF) is the main force of the CITF in the operations against scalawags.

"Very unfortunate nga na may mga police tayong nainvolve sa mga illegal activities... But yung discipline, dedication and yung commitment ng ating SAF troopers ay nandiyan," SAF director Noli Taliño said.

The PNP held a memorial for the fallen SAF members, who had laid their lives down for the country.

Among those honored were the 44 SAF men who died in the 2015 Mamasapano clash, and the four who died in the Marawi siege last year.

Former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief and now Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) officer-in-charge Eduardo Año led the SAF memorial activities in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

"Yung scalawags sa PNP ay napakaliit na fraction lang," Año said. —Jessica Bartolome/NB, GMA News