Tokhang Reboot launched amid low surrenderer turn-out

CEBU, Philippines - While claiming that the anti-illegal drug campaign in Western Visayas is still a success, the Police Regional Office-6 admitted that the number of drug personalities who surrendered under Oplan Double Barrel is way below compared to other regions.

Chief Superintendent Cesar Hawthorne Binag, Western Visayas police chief, said the region posted the lowest number of drug surrenderers among police regional offices in the country with only 20,598 drug personalities.

"This, by any standard, represents a substantial number. But studied further, this would translate to only 1 percent of  PRO-6's population," he said.

Further, "while substantial gains have been made in our Tokhang campaign, our consultations with different community leaders show that the fight is far from over," he added.

Binag said this was validated through interviews with stakeholders in the community who reported that the drug problem in their area still persists.

In addition, there have been 431 newly-identified drug personalities since March 2017, the launch of Project Double Barrel Reloaded, and they have been arrested.

As such, on the occasion of the 116th Police Service Anniversary celebration of PRO-6 at Camp Delgado, Iloilo City on Monday, August 14, Binag launched the Tokhang Reboot.

Binag said it is PRO-6's effort to implement the PNP national headquarters' "Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded" on the ground in Iloilo.

Binag said that when he asked community leaders if they agreed that only 1 percent of the region's population is involved drugs, the overwhelming response was "a definite no."

He added that the Regional Oversight Committee on Illegal Drugs also conducted an exhaustive evaluation and came to the same conclusion.

The challenge and the puzzle are, he said, why only a small percentage of those involved in drugs surrendered?

"And we found out that the main reason was that these drug personalities didn't see a well laid-out drug rehabilitation program for them," Binag said.

Relatedly, they reviewed the five stages of our implementation of Tokhang and identified critical areas that need improvement.

"We added what we believe is a crucial sixth stage: the Reintegration Stage," he said.

Binag cited the need to relaunch the Operation Tokhang, through Tokhang Reboot, with a view to connecting the police's efforts more closely, with the rehabilitation, and life-change support infrastructures that partner government agencies, civic-religious organizations, and the private sector are offering.

From July 1, 2016 to June 30,2017,the PNP recorded 1,309,000 drug surrenderers nationwide, according to PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa. (FREEMAN)