Año favors tokhang strategy vs police scalawags

MANILA, Philippines — Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año is in favor of employing the tokhang strategy that involves going to the homes and appealing to police scalawags to reform and stop illegal activities.

“We can try that strategy, Maybe we can give some hope to these scalawags to reform and the same time warn them to stop doing foolishness,” Año told reporters last Friday.

Senior Supt. Romeo Caramat Jr., who heads the Philippine National Police Counter-Intelligence Task Force (CITF), said tokhang is one option against rogue police officers.

Tokhang, which means knock and plead in Visayan, is an activity where policemen visit the homes of drug suspects and ask them to change their ways.

The PNP said the program has resulted in the surrender of some 1.2 million drug pushers and users.

If this could be applied to drug offenders, Caramat sees no reason why it could not be used with police scalawags.

Former PNP chief and current Bureau of Corrections director Ronald dela Rosa formed the CITF following the murder of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo, who was allegedly kidnapped and killed by corrupt police anti-narcotics officers right inside police headquarters in Camp Crame in October 2016.

The CITF is composed of members from the elite Special Action Force (SAF).

Caramat said around 1,000 police officers are in their watchlist for involvement in illegal drugs and other criminal activities.

The CITF has killed four police officers in alleged gunbattles since Caramat assumed leadership of the unit in May 2018.

He was the police director of Bulacan where at least 30 drug suspects were killed in reported shootouts with policemen in a 24-hour period.