De Lima hits Bato’s ‘insensitive, not funny’ tokhang joke

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Leila de Lima has slammed senatorial candidate Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa for being “insensitive” after the former police chief made a joke about “Oplan Tokhang,” the police’s nationwide anti-illegal drug operations.

De Lima, one of the administration’s fiercest critics, was referring to Dela Rosa’s antics in a campaign sortie where he jokingly warned people that those who would not applaud him would be subjected to tokhang.

“Libu-libong kababayan natin ang napaslang sa Oplan Tokhang at patuloy pa ring nabibiktima ng pekeng kampanya laban sa droga ng rehimeng Duterte. Tila ba normal na lang talaga kay dating PNP Chief De la Rosa ang karahasang dulot nito kaya ganoon na lang kadali para sa kanya na gawin itong biro,” the senator said in a statement on Tuesday.

“But it’s neither funny nor amusing,” she explained.  “Only sick people would dare make a joke out of Tokhang and its innocent victims for the sake of gaining public attention and securing votes in the upcoming midterm elections.  So insensitive!”

Tokhang is a contracted word, a combination of “katok” or to knock and Visayan word “hangyo,” which means to plead.  Tokhang centered on knocking on houses and asking drug users to mend their ways.

The ex-top cop was with other Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) candidates in an event in Calamba City, Laguna last March 10 when the joke was made.

“Kasi kung ayaw niyong pumalakpak bukas pa-tokhang ko kayo sa pulis,” Dela Rosa said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

Dela Rosa is being endorsed by the Dutertes — HNP founding chair and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio and President Rodrigo Duterte.  Before the President assigned him to the top brass of the Philippine National Police (PNP), he served as Davao City’s police chief.

But according to De Lima, who is detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame for drug-related charges, Dela Rosa should be aware that joking about Tokhang can be hard for families whose relatives have died due to the drug war.

“He should know better, that his foul jokes about ‘Oplan Tokhang’ can reopen past wounds and cause these people more pain and agony,” she noted.

“Imbes na gawing katatawanan ang isyu ng mga patayan na ibinubunsod ng Tokhang, mas mabuti kung ilatag niya ang kanyang plano kung paano matutuldukan ang karahasan at kung paano mabibigyan ng katarungan ang mga biktima ng EJK,” she added.

INQUIRER.net has sought the side of Dela Rosa but he has yet to respond to messages and queries.

During the campaign period for the 2016 Presidential Elections, Duterte ran a campaign centered on eradicating crime and the illegal drug trade.  Since he took office, government numbers show that more than 5,000 drug suspects have died in legitimate police operations.

However, De Lima and other critics of the administration claim that the real number may be in between 11,000 and 27,000, including vigilante-style killings that were not considered part of government operations. /je