Oplan Tokhang goes to Loyola villas

THE HOMEOWNERS of the upscale Loyola Grand Villas subdivision in Marikina and Quezon City have opened their gates to the police amid fears of planted evidence during the conduct of Oplan Tokhang.

On Saturday, the homeowners association officers of the subdivision signed a memorandum of agreement with the Eastern Police District (EPD) led by director Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula and Marikina City Police Chief Senior Supt. Lorenzo Holanday for the conduct of the nationwide law enforcement project.

EPD’s mascot PO1 Tokhang, who earlier conducted a Brigada Tokhang, was witness to the MOA signing. Brigada Tokhang is Oplan Tokhang with a twist—police officers who knock on doors of suspected drug users are accompanied by drug dependents who have turned themselves in.

Under the memorandum of agreement, the police, in their official T-shirts and jogging pants, are given access to roam around the subdivision, knock on gates and distribute leaflets on their anti-illegal drugs and criminality drive. The residents of the subdivision are expected to maintain close coordination with and assistance to the police, and report vital information on criminal activities to the nearest community precinct.

As of July, 90 subdivisions and condominiums have been subjected to Oplan Tokhang in the cities of Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina and San Juan. The five subdivisions of Valle Verde were the first to sign an agreement with the police.

The Loyola Grand Villas has about 1,000 households and four barangays.

Joy Guevarra, president of the Loyola Grand Villas Homeowners Association, expressed gratitude for the police’s efforts to reach out to their community, even as there were initial fears and apprehensions.

Guevarra said Holanday earlier conducted a dialogue with the residents of the subdivision, where the police were asked straightforward questions before they were able to come to an agreement.

Guevarra also denied that people from upscale residences were treated better. “It’s not that we are treated better, we are just aware of and we have our own security protocols.”

Sapitula said the police were aggressive in conducting the house-to-house antidrug drive. “The more support we get, the higher our success is in this war against illegal drugs,” he said.

The same esteem was not given to the police when they conducted Oplan Tokhang and a lecture in the condominium where P3 million worth of party drugs were seized from radio personality Karen Bordador and her boyfriend Emilio Lim last Aug. 13.

“Instead of erasing the wrong notions regarding the residents of the condominium, we were not really accommodated at the Skyway Towers Condominium,” Sapitula said.

He said only maintenance and household helpers attended their lecture.