Camp Crame team in region to verify anti-drug successes

CEBU, Philippines - A team from the National Operations Center of the Camp Crame is now in Cebu to assess the accomplishments of the Police Regional Office-7 in its Oplan Tokhang and Double Barrel campaigns.

Chief Superintendent Noli Taliño, PRO-7 director, said the team, led by Chief Superintendent Nestor Borgonia, arrived Wednesday.

The objective of the assessment, validation, and evaluation is to reconcile national headquarters data with that of PRO-7 as to its operations.

Taliño said over 71,000 drug personalities, either pushers or users, have so far surrendered in Central Visayas.

He also said that from July to August 24, after President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, his office recorded 170 drug personalities killed during legitimate police operations and by unknown assailants.

For July, he said, 39 were killed during police operations while 34 were killed by unknown attackers, whose identities they are now working to establish. From August 1 to 24, 34 were killed by the police during operations while 63 were killed by suspected vigilantes.

Taliño said there is possibility that the drug personalities killed by unknown assailants were silenced by colleagues in the trade who may have become wary that the victims will squeal on them.

In a separate interview, Bergonia said he was assigned by Philippine National Police Chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to validate the accomplishments of PRO-7 down to the municipal police stations, particularly on the number of “surrenderers” and those placed under the Oplan Tokhang and Double Barrel campaigns.

“Titingnan if tama ang data kung nagsabi na may surrenderers na 100 gusto namin makita ang pangalan, lahat ng documentation,” he said.

He said their assessment would include those neutralized by the police during operations and those affected by their “internal cleansing.”

Borgonia said that if there would be discrepancies in the data, they would look into every operation to reconcile each with the record. This, he said, was intended to give factual data to the president as to the accomplishments of the Central Visayas police.

Meanwhile, Borgonia said that nationwide a total of 776 suspects were killed during legitimate police operations July up to the present. (FREEMAN)