Bato: PNP should consider bringing back Oplan Tokhang ‘kung pupuwede’

The Philippine National Police should consider bringing back “Oplan Tokhang” if possible, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said Monday.

“Yes, kung pupuwede [if possible], but then again I cannot impose to them; they have their own programs and we have to support them,” Dela Rosa said in an ANC interview when asked if he would advise the PNP to bring back the controversial campaign in their current programs against illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa, a former Davao City police director, was then-President Rodrigo Duterte's first PNP chief, appointed on Duterte's first day in office and serving in the position until 2018. He was at the forefront of the administration's war on drugs throughout much of Duterte's term, and remains a vocal defender of it.

Oplan Tokhang was part of the police’s anti-drugs campaign, which included going door-to-door to "knock and plead" with people to stop using illegal drugs. The Duterte administration's war on drugs resulted in the death of thousands of mostly poor Filipinos, with even the government's official tally placing the number of the dead at more than 6,000. 

Rights groups and critics of the Duterte administration say the actual toll is much higher. 

Dela Rosa claimed that Oplan Tokhang was “very effective” in reducing demand for drugs, and that it resulted in 1.6 million surrenders and the arrest of 300,000 drug offenders, all alive and well inside the jails.

He also said that the thousands of deaths were due to “different circumstances,” including reported abuses by some policemen, whom he said are now facing charges.

Last week, Dela Rosa also claimed that many syndicates had been dismantled during Duterte's term, and that now they were back with a vengeance.

While he made a strong privilege speech on the supposed comeback of ninja cops, Dela Rosa said this was not intended to tell the PNP that they are not doing its job.

He explained that his statement was meant to encourage the police force to be aware of the comeback of the ninja cops and the drug syndicates.

"Ninja cops" refer to police officers who are themselves in the illegal drug trade, usually by supposedly "recycling" confiscated drugs to sell back on the street.

Asked if President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., should be as tough as Duterte in dealing with the problem of illegal drugs, Dela Rosa said every administration has its own style of leadership.

“Different leaders, different approaches, different diskarte [strategy], different brand of leadership. So we have to respect kung anumang meron siya [whatever plan he has],” he said. — BM, GMA Integrated News