Bato: Narco cops should be subjected to ‘Tok-bang,’ not ‘Tokhang’

MANILA, Philippines - So how do you handle the 11,000 policemen involved in illegal drugs?

For Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa, the solution is not Oplan Tokhang, wherein law enforcers knock at the doors of drug offenders and ask them to surrender.

“They are policemen. Why would you subject them to Tokhang? It should be Tok-bang. You knock and then bang. That’s how it should be,” dela Rosa told Malacañang reporters in jest on Thursday.

“They are policemen. They should have behaved properly. They should not have been involved in drugs,” he added.

Dela Rosa said the PNP’s internal affairs service is now investigating the policemen with alleged drug links.

The police chief issued the statement as human rights advocates and international bodies are expressing concerns over the spate of drug-related killings in the Philippines. About 3,000 suspected drug offenders have died, about half of them in law enforcement operations, since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office last July.

The president has said about 11,000 policemen and 16,000 barangay captains are involved in illegal drugs.

During the campaign period, Duterte promised to end narcotics trade within the first three to six months of his term and to wage a bloody and brutal war against drug lords. He, however, admitted early this month that the goal cannot be attained within the timeframe and that he needs six more months to do it because of the sheer number of drug offenders.

Dela Rosa admitted that the PNP still has a lot of work to do with regard to its illegal drugs crackdown.

“Our new target we set is 1.8 million surrenderees, including those who were neutralized, arrested or killed,” the PNP chief said.  

“We now have about 720,000 surrenderees and add to that the 15,000 persons who were arrested. We also have those who were killed in police operations. We still have to do more in the demand side,” he added.

Dela Rosa, nevertheless, claimed that the PNP has reduced the illegal drugs supply by about 70 to 80 percent.

“This was felt in the pricing or the prevailing price. The street value of shabu (methamphetamine) increased by more than 300 percent. We were effective in the supply side,” he said.

“With regard to the demand side, our handicap is the lack of rehabilitation facilities,” the PNP chief said.

Dela Rosa explained that while the first phase of the anti-drug war zeroed in on convincing drug suspects to surrender, the second phase would focus on high value targets.

When asked about the list of celebrities with alleged links to the illegal drug trade, dela Rosa said he would just wait for the president to announce their names after his two-day visit to Vietnam.

The president has so far revealed the names of more than 160 incumbent and former government officials who are believed to have ties with drug syndicates. He said his next list has about 1,000 names, including lawmakers, local executives, uniformed men, judges, and Chinese individuals.

Duterte, however, apologized to three individuals for the supposed lapses in the verification of a drug matrix he presented to the media last month.

He admitted that he could not explain why former Pangasinan governor and now fifth district Rep. Amado Espino Jr., former provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and board member Raul Sison were in the matrix.

Officials, however, maintained that the lapses would not invalidate other information in the drug list.

“The president collated the sources of information and intelligence reports. The matrix was the only one that linked them (to the drug trade) but others have gap,” dela Rosa said.

“So in case of doubt, if there is gap, you do not confirm. That’s the rule of thumb in the intelligence community.”

Dela Rosa said the president has a final say on the narcotics list to be released to the public.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella denied notions that Espino, Baraan and Sison were cleared because of political accommodation.  

“There is no political accommodation. But definitely, if I know the character of the president, there was no such thing,” Abella said.