The Philippine National Police is implementing a new version
of the government’s anti-drug war campaign.
Philippine
National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa
has made a call to all parties concern specially to those who have accused the
PNP of summary executions in the pursuit of their lawful duties. Dela Rosa has
invited all human rights advocates are welcome to join in "Oplan
Tokhang" operations. Reiterating that they are not that common thugs who
just gun down drug suspects indiscriminately. *
"Well, imbitado
sila para makita nila. We are inviting them sumama kayo sa 'Oplan Tokhang' para
makita ninyo kung paano namin ginagawa ito, pati mga pari nila iniimbitahan
namin kung gusto nilang sumama," he added.
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| Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa(photo credit to owner) |
The PNP Chief
said that they would also request the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to come
up with a list of legitimate human rights groups.
"Tingnan
natin kung merong accreditation (sila) from the (Commission) Human
Rights," he added.
PNP spokesperson
Chief Superintendent Dionardo Carlos during a press conference with the media
clarified that the said supplemental
guidelines for "Oplan Tokhang" are essentially founded on the
fundamental principles of respect for human rights and strict adherence to the
rule of law, with greater emphasis on transparency, accountability and command
responsibility.
"The more
salient items in the 12-point guidelines prescribe that 'Rule of Law' shall
always prevail during the conduct of all anti-illegal drug related activities
including Tokhang activities, and Respect for Human Rights shall be strictly
observed at all times,” The PNP
spokesperson said.
The new guidelines
in undertaking Tokhang operations shall be intelligence-driven, targeting
suspected illegal drug personalities listed by the Directorate for Intelligence.
It is required
that police Tokhang teams are in proper PNP uniform, must be led by a police
commissioned officer and shall conduct operations from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
to Friday. *
"When
available, the use of body camera and similar video recording gadgets is highly
encouraged in Tokhang operations," Carlos said.
In the
documentation of surrenderers, taking of mug shots and fingerprint, is
voluntary and should not be mandatory for surrenderers.
The program has
been relaunched, PNP has released the new police guidelines on anti-illegal
drug operations. Incoming Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG) chief Eduardo Año states that the new PNP guidelines have more weight
and demands greater accountability.
He vowed that the DILG and
the National Police Commission (Napolcom) will be proactive in ensuring that
the guidelines are fulfilled with diligence.
“With the issuance of these
guidelines, we hope that the police organization will be ably guided as they
provide active support to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the
anti-illegal drugs campaign,” added Año, who is also the concurrent chair of
Napolcom.
Report from PNA
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