No ‘Oplan Tokhang’ in Makati
As police forces across Metro Manila conducted the revamped “Oplan Tokhang” this week, Makati City faced a peculiar problem: Lack of drug suspects in the city’s watchlist, preventing its “Tokhangers” from joining in.
“According to the list given by the [Philippine National Police] Directorate for Intelligence (DI), there are zero [drug personalities] left. Either they had been nabbed, surrendered, or left Makati,” said Makati police chief Senior Supt. Gerardo Umayao.
Tokhangers, police officers trained to conduct Oplan Tokhang, cannot make house-to-house visits to those who are not on an illegal drugs watchlist.
Support
Umayao commended what he said had been “very overwhelming” support from the local government when the city police first began its Tokhang operations, saying it had been complemented by funding for rehabilitation and work opportunities.
Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr., Southern Police District director, confirmed the absence of drug personalities on the watchlist but said it did not hamper Makati police from conducting other anti-drug operations.
Oplan Tokhang is the “lower barrel” of PNP Project Double Barrel, envisioned as a “softer approach” where police knock on the doors of drug suspects and plead for their surrender.
The “upper barrel” are anti-drug operations such as buy-busts that are not bound by the same guidelines as Tokhang.
There was a procedure for uploading drug personalities onto the watchlist, which includes vetting by a screening committee and validation from the DI, Apolinario added.
“We are ready for a new list to be given to us,” said Umayao. Until then, however, the city will have no Tokhang operations.
Oplan Tokhang was relaunched on Monday under a new set of rules, one of which was that it could only be conducted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
Less bloody
PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa promised it would be a “less bloody” reincarnation of the controversial program, while National Capital Region Police office chief Director Oscar Albayalde said Metro Manila Tokhangers would be unarmed.
Makati City had previously come under scrutiny when police officers were barred from entering several of its posh subdivisions, where some of the country’s richest reside, fueling debate about the anti-drug war’s alleged targeting of the poor.
A compromise was reached after a modified Tokhang, which consisted of officers handing out fliers to spread awareness about illegal drugs, was allowed to take place in villages like Dasmariñas and San Lorenzo.
“Their household help would come down to accept the fliers. There were no identified drug suspects in the villages [anyway],” Umayao said.
