Extrajudicial killings not ours–Bato

Philippine National Police chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

PHILIPPINE National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” De la Rosa denied on Tuesday that the government sanctioned the killings of suspects in the ongoing war against drugs as the death toll continued to climb.

Senate finance committee chair Sen. Loren Legarda queried De la Rosa during the proposed P148 billion budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for 2017. She raised concerns the killings were “state-sponsored.”

Legarda noted there were reports of drug suspects killed after surrendering to police in its Oplan Tokhang campaign, but De la Rosa replied that there were instances when suspects were killed in a shoot out in police sting operations just a day after being warned of being in the list.

Asked by Legarda on efforts to rehabilitate drug users, Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno said that there were some local government executives taking initiatives to rehabilitate them. He said bishops and the Protestant church, among others, were also involved in this.

Sueno said the interior department, as well as the health department have approached business leaders to help establish rehabilitation centers, even as Legarda stressed the DILG has funds unspent from its previous budget.

DILG officials told Legarda said since President Duterte’s directive to them to rehabilitate drug users last July 15, they have come up with community based rehabilitation program as well as a long-term plan involving the private sector.