A week since President Rodrigo Duterte’s assumption of power and Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald de la Rosa’s order implementing “Oplan Tokhang,” the Southern Police District reported that 2,261 people—a mix of illegal drug peddlers and users—have voluntarily surrendered to authorities, bringing with them vital information that could lead to the identification of others involved in the drug trade.
As of Friday, a total of 1,913 illegal drug users and 348 pushers have surrendered to police, who were aided by barangay officials, said Supt. Jenny Tecson of the SPD public information office. These numbers were the result of daily police operations which brought them to the doorsteps of 1,667 houses in Makati, Pasay, Taguig, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Pateros, she added.
Pateros had the least number of drug personalities with only 55 users and 21 pushers, while Pasay had the highest number—826 users and 89 users, Tecson said. Muntinlupa came in second with 671 users and 79 pushers, while Taguig had 402 users and 26 pushers; Las Piñas, 372 users and 57 pushers; Makati, 118 users and 72 pushers, and Parañaque, 68 users and 21 pushers.
Pateros police chief Senior Supt. Ernesto Tendero Jr. said on Saturday that all those who surrendered were given amnesty and asked to sign a sworn statement saying they would completely stop their participation in the drug trade.
“We take their photos and record their personal information so we can monitor them and ensure that they won’t go back to using or pushing drugs,” he added.