National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa on Monday said human-rights advocates are welcome to join in “Oplan Tokhang” operations, emphasizing that policemen will not gun down drug suspects indiscriminately.
“Well, imbitado sila para makita nila [we invite them to witness our operations]. We are inviting them sumama kayo sa [come with us in] sa Oplan Tokhang para makita ninyo kung paano namin ginagawa ito, pati mga pari nila iniimbitahan namin kung gusto nilang sumama [so you will see how we undertake our anti-drug operations, and this invitation includes priests],” he added.
Dela Rosa said that they would also request the Commission on Human Rights to come up with a list of legitimate human-rights groups.
PNP Spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo B. Carlos earlier said supplemental guidelines for Oplan Tokhang are essentially founded on the fundamental principles of respect for human rights and strict adherence to the rule of law, with greater emphasis on transparency, accountability and command responsibility.
“The more salient items in the 12-point guidelines prescribe that the ‘Rule of Law’ shall always prevail during the conduct of all anti-illegal drug-related activities, including Tokhang activities, and respect for human rights shall be strictly observed at all times,”
he added.
The guidelines specifically stipulate that Tokhang operations shall be intelligence-driven, targeting suspected illegal drug personalities listed by the PNP Directorate for Intelligence.
It is required that police Tokhang teams are in proper PNP uniform, must be led by a police commissioned officer and shall conduct operations from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
“When available, the use of body camera and similar video-recording gadgets is highly encouraged in Tokhang operations,” Carlos said.
The documentation of surrenderers, taking of mug shots and fingerprint, is voluntary and should not be mandatory for surrenderers.
The PNP vows to impose sanctions against unwarranted violation of these guidelines.
“Any violation of this PNP Supplemental Operational Guidelines shall be dealt with under existing PNP disciplinary mechanisms,” the PNP spokesman added.
Body cameras
In line with the efforts to ensure transparency in the conduct of the anti-illegal drug campaigns, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has issued guidelines on the use of body cameras during anti-illegal drug operations.
PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino said that as far as practicable, the use of body cameras is encouraged and media should be invited to cover antidrug operations, especially for high-impact operations.
The guidelines issued in the conduct of antidrug operations are as follows:
■ Agents and witnesses, particularly media representatives shall mandatorily wear body cameras;
■ All media representatives shall likewise wear bulletproof vest, ballistic helmets and other protective gears. Their safety and security shall be ensured by the ground commander;
■ All media representatives may be allowed to get actual footage of the antidrug operations and maybe allowed to enter target areas simultaneously with the operating units;
■ The ground commander shall collect the body cameras after the antidrug operation;
■ The video, or any portion of it, generated during the operation shall never be edited, cut, spliced or deleted, otherwise, the Regional Director shall be made answerable;
■ The media may be provided with the whole video footage upon request; and
■ All video footages generated during antidrug operations must be saved in separate folders in the computer or laptop. The footages shall likewise be archived.
The guidelines were issued to ensure adherence of the operatives to the operational procedures and to avoid the negative perceptions on the drug operations conducted, Aquino added.
Dismissal from service
Dela Rosa, meanwhile, reported thathe had already dismissed from the service a total of 352 policemen, more than half were related to drug cases, since he became the chief of the PNP.
Dela Rosa, who was serving an extended term, bared this at the sidelines of the recent 27th foundation anniversary celebrations of the PNP attended by police and public officials.
“Since I assumed as PNP chief, I have already dismissed 352 policemen for various offenses. 167 of these are drug-related [and] 185 others [are for] kidnapping, murder, extortion and various offenses,” the PNP chief said.
Aside from the 352 policemen, an additional 329 also have pending cases as part of the organization’s continuing efforts to rid its ranks of misfits and scalawags.
“Pending, meaning either that the investigation is already finished and my signature is only needed or the investigation is still ongoing,” dela Rosa said.
He added that two senior police officials with the rank of senior superintendent were included in the lists of dismissed and being are investigated.
The PNP chief admitted that the former guidelines which the police leadership issued in the PNP’s campaign against illegal drugs were abused by some of its personnel by using it as cover to commit extortion cases. “I admit it was abused by some, who, on their own, went out to talk to those who are in the [drug] list. If they will not give money, their names will not be taken out [of the list]. The list was used in extortion,” he admitted.