Posh Makati villages OK drug drive, up to a point

DRUG WAR DUTIES In Makati City, officers not mobilized for antiterrorism patrols resume the campaign against illegal drugs by distributing leaflets inside Magallanes, one of the upscale villages in Makati City which finally agreed to let policemen in and conduct the Oplan Tokhang campaign. AFP

FROM KNOCK and plead to buzz and inform.

Six upscale villages in Makati City have opened their gates to the police so they can go house-to-house in line with a “reinvigorated” Oplan Tokhang antidrug campaign.

Accompanied by barangay and homeowners’ association officials, policemen on Monday entered Magallanes and Forbes Park to distribute leaflets while urging residents to report drug users in the neighborhood.

Makati Mayor Abigail Binay earlier appealed to the exclusive subdivisions to cooperate in the drive. This was after the local police said they were unable to take Tokhang into the gated communities after their officials issued certifications that there were no drug suspects among their residents. The four other villages are Bel-Air, Dasmariñas, San Lorenzo and Urdaneta.

After a consultation on Aug. 19, village officials agreed to devise an alternative to Tokhang which they called “Kapit-Bisig Kontra Droga,” an information campaign that will allow the police to distribute leaflets as long as they are accompanied by village officials.

Forbes Park barangay chair Evangeline Manotok said residents were apprehensive over reports that the police were allowed to conduct Tokhang in the gated communities of BF Homes in Parañaque City and Ayala Alabang in Muntinlupa City.

Manotok said some of the feedback she received were: “What if they plant evidence?” “There should be a search warrant.” “Don’t you dare (allow them).”

She explained to them that the house-to-house visit was among the requirements for their community to be declared “drug-free.”

“(The police) are instructed to merely knock on your gates and hand over the information leaflets to you or members of your household. In no case shall the PNP be allowed to enter your residence or premises without your personal invitation,” Manotok told residents in a circular.

Armand Padilla, barangay chair of Magallanes, said the concerned villages would also conduct seminars for parents on how to spot drug addicts, and separate seminars for the youth and house helpers.

LAWMEN ROAM ‘LAWLESS’ LAND An officer manning a checkpoint on E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City, orders a motorcyclist to pull over for an inspection. The police have been put on full alert after President Duterte declared a “state of lawless violence” in the wake of the Sept. 2 Davao City bombing. RICHARD REYES

Senior Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr., director of the Southern Police District, maintained that the leaflet distribution was still part of Oplan Tokhang.

“In the reinvigorated Oplan Tokhang, we go to residents to inform them of the antiillegal drug program. We give them fliers containing contact numbers (where they can report drug suspects),” Apolinario said.

He said the initial goal of Tokhang, which targets the homes of drug suspects identified by the barangay government, was still being pursued alongside the information drive.

MEANWHILE, AT CAMP CRAME… A bolo-wielding Philippine National Police chief, Director General Ronald “Bato ” dela Rosa, shows his clowning chops during the launch on Monday of the PNP’s newest project, a reporting and quick-response app dubbed
Itaga Mo Sa Bato. RICHARD REYES

Among those who invited Manotok, Apolinario and Makati police chief Senior Supt. Rommil Mitra to their premises at Forbes Park was the Indian ambassador to the country, Lalduhthlana Ralte.

In a statement, Binay commended the barangay leaders and residents of the six villages “for weighing in on the ongoing war against drugs. I hope this is the beginning of your sustained cooperation and support to the campaign.”

As of Sept. 1, the Makati police have recorded 1,289 drug suspects who “surrendered” under Tokhang. A total of 108 suspects have been arrested, consisting of 56 users and 52 pushers.