Unconventional cop in drug war among TOYM awardees

MANILA, Philippines — A police officer in Cebu whose approach to fighting illegal drugs has none of the blood and gore commonly associated with the police leadership’s own approach has been named one of The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for 2017, along with seven other exceptional Filipinos.

Supt. Byron Allatog, police chief of Bogo City, Cebu, said he felt honored and humbled by the recognition from the TOYM Foundation, believing that it would change the image of the PNP amid the bloody drug war.

“This award is a big thing for the image of the PNP because this only shows that there are good people in the police force who are doing exceptionally for the community,” Allatog told The STAR.

The TOYM Foundation said that Allatog was recognized because he “values life, believes people should be given second chances, respects human rights and exemplifies standard policing in the drug war based on the rule of law.”

But Allatog said his achievement was not his alone and that he was merely religiously following a system in the PNP that has eventually earned for the city a “drug-cleared” status.

Allatog entered the PNP Academy on May 18, 1998 and graduated on Dec. 6, 2001. He belonged to the PNPA Buklod-Diwa Class of 2001.

He was an operations and intel officer from September 2003 to February 2004 and led a police community precinct from February 2004 to September 2005.  

After nearly five years of service in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Allatog passed and qualified for assignment with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Timor Leste from April 2010 to April 2011.

“One of his best achievements in this field of work is how he managed and led the drug clearing operations in Bogo City – both operationally and administratively, which paved the way for the city to earn the first ‘drug-cleared city’ status in the Philippines,” the TOYM Foundation said.

The TOYM Foundation also said that his excellent leadership and good management style earned him awards as the “Best Performing Police Station in ARMM.”  

He was also the country’s outstanding police officer in service awardee in 2014.

The TOYM Foundation together with the Junior Chamber International Philippines and the Gerry Roxas Foundation chose eight outstanding young Filipinos in 2017.

Disston Tan, national chairman of the TOYM, said that the “Ten Outstanding Young Men” label was changed to “The Outstanding Young Men” so they would not have to be limited to choosing only 10 awardees.   

Aside from Allatog, the TOYM Foundation also recognized the achievements of Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz for sports, Cirilo Joseph Javier for music and arts, Eugenio Mende for veterinary medicine and Ronaldo Reyes for Education. 

The TOYM Foundation also recognized Jason Roy Sibug for community development, Dr. Mark Anthony Torres for government services and education and Chiara Zambrano for journalism and mass communications. 

Diaz said she did not expect to be recognized by the TOYM Foundation as she won in the Olympics in 2016. She was happy and thankful nonetheless for the award.

“But I am still thinking of how to influence the children, especially in the field of weightlifting,” she said.

After winning the award, Diaz put up a mini gym at her home in Barangay Mampang, giving children free training in weightlifting. 

TOYM Foundation chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said that the eight awardees bear the “mark of Filipino excellence and symbol of life and hope in our country.”

“They emerged as absolutely superior in their craft yet extend all of that to enrich themselves. They are channeling their skills to make our country and our world a better place to live, work and play,” Bienvenido Tantoco III, president of TOYM Foundation, said.