PNP: 4,605 dead in drug war

MANILA, Philippines - Over 4,000 and still counting.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported yesterday that the government’s anti-drug war “Oplan Double Barrel” has resulted in the killing of 1,959 suspected drug pushers and addicts in police operations nationwide while 2,646 others were victims of summary execution as of Nov. 23, bringing the total to 4,605 dead since President Duterte took office in July.

Bodies continue to pile up in the government’s brutal war against illegal drugs.

Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos, PNP spokesman, citing an updated report, said that aside from those neutralized in legitimate police operations and summary executions or “salvaging,” some 37,449 drug suspects were also arrested during the 36,600 police anti-narcotics operations from July 1 until yesterday.

Under the PNP’s Oplan Tokhang, policemen have also visited 4,091,542 houses to discourage residents from getting involved in illegal drugs.

Oplan Tokhang had also resulted in the surrender of 807,659 drug dependents and pushers around the country.

Oplan Tokhang is an anti-narcotics strategy aimed at addressing the country’s drug menace, from the higher echelon of drug rings down to street level illegal operations.

The PNP also reported yesterday, that from July 1 to Nov. 23, there were 2,646 deaths in the 3,370 different criminal activities that involved 3,658 victims.

The rise of these unexplained deaths has been attributed to the continuing police crackdown on illegal drugs.

There were reports that rogue cops involved in the illegal drug trade were themselves the brains behind these summary executions to cover their tracks.

Critics also claimed that the PNP’s drug war has given policemen the green light to skirt the law in dealing with drug offenders and those with alleged involvement in other crimes.

The PNP categorized this killing spree launched by unidentified suspects as Death Under Investigation (DUI).

Carlos said 264 suspects have been arrested out of the 724 investigations involving 3,658 victims of 3,370 incidents.

Suggestions, please

After asking for a six-month extension of the government’s war against illegal drugs, President Duterte called on the military and police to provide suggestions on how to eradicate the drug problem within that timeframe.

“We are in narco-politics. It is here (since) about three elections ago. It reached mayors, governors, barangay captains, policemen, thousands of them. So, (since) they are in government, we are in narco-politics. How do we solve it, we have to study it,” Duterte said during a press conference after visiting wounded soldiers yesterday at the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City.

Since his list of government officials involved in drug trafficking has grown thick after several verifications, Duterte said he needed some suggestions from the military and the police.

“You (soldiers) are the guys that would maintain the integrity of the Republic of the Philippines, what do you intend to do? What can you suggest that we do? It (drug problem) cannot last way beyond my term,” the President added.

Duterte promised to end the country’s illegal drug problems in six months from June 30, the day he stepped into office.

However, even before the period is to end in December, Duterte asked for an extension of another six months citing the enormity of the problem, including the more than 700,000 people who surrendered nationwide and admitting to either using or pushing shabu.

He said no one anticipated that the problem was that huge, pointing out that the number far exceeds what could be accommodated by all existing drug rehabilitation centers in the country.

Duterte noted that his administration could still do a “decent” job in solving the drug menace with the participation of the military and police.

He reiterated his denial of any involvement in extrajudicial killings or those that appeared to be done by vigilante groups, saying these were the works of the drug syndicates themselves as they purged their ranks.

“A month before I became president, they (drug syndicates) were cleansing already, purging to protect everybody (in their trade),” Duterte said.

He suggested that the illegal drug operators are passing the blame to his government as he is resolute in his campaign to “destroy the apparatus” of the trade.

PNP problems

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa has called on Negros Island Region policemen to help him solve the problems of scalawags and other issues besetting the police organization.

Dela Rosa noted that Negros is among the regions in the country with serious illegal drug problems.

“Be good out there. Help us, instead of adding to the problem,” Dela Rosa said in an interview with Bombo Radyo Bacolod.

Nine police officials and five other police officers were linked to illegal drugs and have been relieved from the regional office and are now assigned in Mindanao and Luzon.

Dela Rosa said he hopes that Negrenses will continue to extend their all-out support to the PNP.

“We are doing our best to serve and protect you,” he said.

Meanwhile, authorities recovered machineguns, mortars and assault rifles on Thursday from the hideout of a barangay chairman wanted for drug trafficking in North Cotabato.

Renz Tukuran, also known as Datu Puti, chairman of Barangay Lumupog in Midsayap, North Cotabato, and his men fled to a marsh near the Liguasan Delta when policemen and soldiers tried to serve an arrest warrant on the village official.

The operation resulted in firefights between Tukuran’s supporters and government troops and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The intermittent encounters from Nov. 14 to 20 resulted in the death of 12 people, while more than 2,000 families were evacuated from Barangay Lumupog and nearby villages in Northern Kabuntalan town in Maguindanao. – Giovanni Nilles, Jaime Laude, John Unson, Gilbert Bayoran