By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has underscored the need for policemen conducting “Oplan Tokhang” (Tokhangers) to be armed with guns for self-defense.
PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said that even though the “true spirit” of Oplan Tokhang is to knock on the houses of drug suspects and encourage them to change for the better, violent confrontation would not be completely avoided.
“Let us make this clear, ‘yung ating Tokhangers armed yan, naka-short FA (firearms) sila for self-defense. Pero sa likod niyan meron ‘yang long FA na security nila,” Dela Rosa said.
“What if pagkatok mo, pag-open ng door eh diretso tapon ng granada? Hindi ba? Ang dami nangyaring ganoon kaya imbes Tokhang, ‘Tokbang’. Nagkabarilan na,” he added.
Dela Rosa also stated that even if the Tokhangers are all well-trained, disciplined and chosen carefully to avoid bloodshed and all the past mistakes in the previous version of Oplan Tokhang, it does not guarantee that they would not fight back if their lives are placed in danger.
“Rest assured, hindi kami mangunguna ng ‘blood-letting ceremonies.’ Pero kapag pumutok sila (drug suspects), eh ‘di putok rin kami. Alangan namang pabayaan namin sila na upakan kami,” he said in jest, likening bloodshed to a blood-letting ceremony.
Under the supplemental guidelines of the PNP’s anti-illegal drug operations, a team of Tokhangers are composed of four police officers led by the deputy chief of police.
Dela Rosa also requires every Tokhang unit to be joined by a member of the Baranggay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC), PNP’s Human Rights Affair Office (HRAO), and either church sector or ‘a prominent member of the community.’ Media are also invited in operations.
Dela Rosa said drug suspects who will surrender shall be advised to proceed to the barangay hall, BADAC office or police station accompanied by a relative or guardian for documentation. The drug surrenderee will then be asked to fill out a Biographical Profile Form (BPF) and be referred to concerned local government unit (LGU) or PNP office for recovery program.
However, if a drug personality refuses to surrender or is hostile, his name will be forwarded to the concerned Drug Enforcement Unit “for case build-up and negation.”
Meanwhile, a total of 563 drug suspects surrendered on the first day of the resumption of Oplan Tokhang, the PNP said.
The surrenderees were the subjects of 1,430 simultaneous Tokhang operations, with 38 of them coming from Metro Manila, according to the validated drug list of the Directorate for Intelligence (DI).
With the record, Dela Rosa said he was “very satisfied” with the results of the comeback of Oplan Tokhang.