DUMAGUETE CITY — The police here have assured they will only visit the homes of suspected drug personalities based on a validated list from higher headquarters under the “reloaded” Oplan Tokhang.
Supt. Jonathan Pineda, police chief of Dumaguete City, gave the assurance Thursday as he disclosed that they had not yet officially re-launched Tokhang, the government’s anti-drug campaign to eradicate illegal drugs in the country, in this provincial capital.
According to Pineda, only those in a validated list coming from the Directorate of Intelligence of the PNP national headquarters would be visited in their homes to convince them to stop their illegal drug activities and voluntarily surrender.
Pineda said they had forwarded a list to the Directorate of Intelligence for validation while previous watch lists of drug personalities would also be reviewed.
Tokhang, coined from the Cebuano words Toktok or to knock and Hangyo or to ask/request, became controversial following the deaths of persons who police said were shot during police operations for “resisting arrest”.
In the revised Tokhang, only select police personnel will be assigned to carry this out.
According to Pineda, he has already identified at least six of his men for this, but he is still awaiting the return of SPO3 Orlando Gonzaga who is undergoing a two-week seminar at the Police Regional Office 7 (Central Visayas) on Oplan Tokhang.
The police chief also explained that the new policy is that other stakeholders, such as from the academe, religious sector, and/or the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council, must be present during the house-to-house Tokhang campaign.
This was to erase doubts cast on the police in the implementation of Tokhang, he said.
In the meantime, the city police is conducting dialogues in schools, passenger terminals, and even talking to parents of suspected drug personalities on the illegal drugs campaign.
Oplan Tokhang will be fully implemented by next week upon the return Gonzaga, the police chief disclosed. (Mary Judaline Partlow/PNA)
