PNP asks public not to”generalize” anti-drug operations

August 21, 2017

The Philippine National Police asked the public to not “generalize” the anti-drug operations of the police following the death of a 17-year-old boy in a police operation in Caloocan City.

“This a separate incident. Let us not generalize that because of this incident all the …anti-drug operation will result to same as Kian (Lloyd Delos Santos)”, Chief Superintendent Dionardo Carlos, the PNP spokesman, said in a press conference on Monday.

Delos Santos was killed in the Oplan Galugad anti-criminality operation of the Caloocan Police on August 16.

The 17-year-old boy is allegedly a drug courier of his father and uncle according to the report of the Caloocan police, Carlos said.

“That is different to what is happening daily. Now the question is if you go out, do you get held up by addicts? If you go out, are you raped by addicts? Now, at this time if you go out, do you get beaten by addicts?”, Carlos said.

At least 1.309 million drug users or pushers surrendered to the authorities while 19,000 drug suspects were arrested and placed in a detention facility, he said.

“This is the real result. The PNP visited the houses through tokhang to encourage them to change”, Carlos said. He said 0.2 percent of  police operations resulted in the death of the suspects.

Policemen killed in over a year of war on drugs reached 70 while 176 police personnel were critically wounded, Carlos said. He said the support of President Rodrigo Duterte to policemen exclude those violating the law.

“The support of the commander in chief and the chief executive to the police are those policemen that are doing their job right. It does not include those that are doing wrong things”, he said. Alanna Ambi/DMS