Dela Rosa promises “bloodless” Oplan Tokhang

January 12, 2018

The Philippine National Police ( PNP) said Oplan Tokhang, the controversial anti-drug program said to have resulted in thousands of deaths, will be revived in a "bloodless" manner.

"The spirit of Tokhang is really a bloodless campaign if  implemented properly. (It) is knock and plead lang. There will be no arrests at the time of the Tokhang operation. You will talk to the policeman. Even if you are a known drug pusher in the barangay, police and barangay officials will persuade you to stop. If you want to undergo rehab, local governments are willing to do it," said PNP Director General Ronald Dela Rosa in an ambush interview in Valenzuela City Friday.

"We will do everything so that the real spirit of Tokhang will be done. No foolishness will be permitted," said Dela Rosa. Dela Rosa pointed out that Tokhang was done in Davao and it was very successful.

"We cleaned up Davao because of Tokhang. The drug problem went down to the lowest level because the campaign was well supervised," said Dela Rosa. But when the PNP applied it, Dela Rosa there were policemen who had "bad intentions."

"We will make sure this will be properly implemented and those policemen who will continue with their foolishness will be accountable," he added.

Dela Rosa said some policemen would bring a list of suspected drug personalities to the barangay and would extort money from them. "They ( policemen) would say, ' you are in this list. Give us money sowe will remove your name.' These things happened so it is important for us to implement Tokhang properly," said Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa did not say when Oplan Tokhang would be relaunched but he said talks with persons concerned are going on.

He said he announced the revival of Oplan Tokhang during the PNP command conference this month. "We will have an oversight committee. The deputy police chief for operations will supervise this," said Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa said policemen will be wearing body cameras in the anti-drug operations.

In 2016, when Oplan Tokhang some alleged drug pushers and drug lords were killed after their reportedly resisted arrest. Some law enforcers abducted persons in the guise of an anti-illegal drug operation, like a South Korean businessman who was taken by policemen in Pampanga.

The businessman, Jee Ick Joo, was reportedly killed inside PNP despite payment of ransom by his wife in late 2016. Three more South Korean businessmen were abducted by cops and released also in Pampanga. President Rodrigo Duterte sent an envoy to convey the government's apologies to South Korea.

A teenager, whom police later say to be a drug courier, was also killed in Caloocan last year, sparking protests. Policemen in Caloocan City were relieved as a result of this incident and other complaints, like searching a home without a court order.

Duterte ordered police and law enforcement units to scrap their anti-illegal drug units, centering the war on drugs to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

But less than three months, Duterte allowed the return of police, the National Bureau of Investigation and other agencies to revive its anti-illegal drug units. But he said these agencies will be supporting rthe PDEA. DMS