The issuance of supplemental operational guidelines and the involvement of other stakeholders in the campaign against illegal drugs are contributing to the success of the relaunched “Oplan Tokhang” and “Double Barrel Reloaded,” the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
While a comparison between the old and the reinstituted anti-drugs drives could not be made, or be considered as both success stories already as the PNP insists, it is, however, noted that the current campaign is turning out to be “less bloody”—as PNP chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had wanted it to be.
“The reduction in the number of deaths among drug suspects in the campaign against illegal drugs, dubbed Double Barrel Reloaded, may be attributed to the efforts of the PNP leadership in implementing the supplemental guidelines in the conduct of Project Tokhang,” PNP Spokesman Chief Supt. John Bulalacao said.
Double Barrel is the anti-illegal-drugs campaign aimed against so-called high-value targets, while its twin—Tokhang—which is its softer side, targets drug users and even peddlers around the country.
Tokhang employs persuasion by visiting the homes of illegal-drug users and convincing them to surrender or stop their illicit habit and activities.
Hitting the target
A news statement released by Bulalacao’s office several days ago said that Tokhang has already bagged 12,185 drug suspects and forced the surrender of 4,458 drug users around the country.
The statement quoted the data provided by the office of Director Camilo Pancratius Cascolan, chief of the PNP Directorate for Operations.
The arrests of the more than 12,185 drug personalities by the different drug-enforcement units of the PNP were made through the 7,744 operations that were carried out.
The Police Regional Office 10 recorded the highest number of Tokhang activities with 1,016 that turned in 529 drug surrenderers, followed by Police Regional Office 3 with 1,005 Tokhang activities that caused the surrender of 656 drug users.
From December 5, 2017, up to March 5, about 118 drug suspects have died in operations, which, in some cases, have also snuffed out the lives of operating policemen.
In the early part of the campaign, the Philippines shocked the international community when the casualties in the anti-illegal drugs war soared to unimaginable numbers. There were conflicting reports, though, as some reports pegged the number of deaths from a little over 1,000 to more than 20,000.
Tokhang was relaunched on January 28 along with the Double Barrel.
The PNP said Malacañang is scheduled to release the latest data on the anti-illegal-drugs campaign shortly.
Loosening the will
Bulalacao said the twin campaigns have also loosened the will of drug suspects to resist after it was implemented at the start of the Duterte administration, thus, resulting in lesser deaths.
He said the lesser casualties arose from the “waning resolve among drug suspects to put up a fight with the police, being aware of its possible consequences.”
The PNP spokesman said that since the continuing operation has decimated the number of drug personalities, it also follows that the number of deaths should decrease.
“The reduction in the number of deaths among drug suspects in the campaign against illegal drugs, dubbed Double Barrel Reloaded, may be attributed to the reduced number of high-value targets and street-level targets, considering that the bulk of the suspects had been arrested already,” Bulalacao said.
He reiterated the “pro-life” stand of the PNP and that the police force has put into practice its “respect for human rights.”
Still, Bulalacao said, “It should be noted that the number of arrested suspects and surrenderers that are alive is far bigger than those who got killed, proof that allegations on EJK [extrajudicial killing] are not true.”
The guidelines, considered as the “Bible” of policemen involved in the anti-drug operations, strictly spell out and govern their activities in the conduct of the anti-drugs drive.
It does not also allow policemen to be involved in the operation unless they have been ingrained with the guidelines and their training.
The guidelines mandate that Tokhang should be carried out during daytime and no weekend operation, and its implementation should be accompanied by human-rights advocates and even the Church or members of the media.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila