Atty. Harry Roque Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA — Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry Roque has lauded the Philippine National Police’s move to suspend its bloody anti-drug operations amid corruption and abuses among its ranks.
In a statement, Roque said that “ridding the organization of rotten members is the necessary first step to wide-ranging reforms in the PNP.”
He said the PNP should also train its members on human rights-based policing, in view of the abuses that attended the government’s flagship anti-drug program Oplan Tokhang.
“The sheer volume of abuses committed by the police, particularly the extra-legal killings, during the implementation of Oplan Tokhang cannot be simply ignored,” he said.
Roque added that the murder of South Korean national Jee Ick-joo has been “proof” that the police themselves “are the ones involved in crimes instead of being the ones implementing the law.” SFM