New PNP chief promises 'Finale Version 2022' in 'war on drugs'
MANILA, Philippines — Police Gen. Dionardo Carlos, the new Philippine National Police chief, promised continuity in the PNP as he said that Oplan Double Barrel, the PNP's flagship project in the administration's "war against drugs", will continue during his term.
"The Oplan Double Barrel, that will continue," he said in Filipino in a video statement sent to reporters Monday. "This time around, I'll call it the Finale Version 2022."
Under the final stretch of the Duterte administration's so-called drug war, Carlos said he wanted to focus on the PNP's coordination with other law-enforcement bodies such as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
READ: PNP and PDEA again craft guidelines for drug operations after standoff
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has found that crystal methamphetamines or shabu are still behind the most arrest and treatment admissions in the Philippines.
This finding from the international body runs counter to the consistent narrative of administration officials that the anti-narcotics campaign has made significant strides in peace and order.
Former PNP chief Debold Sinas claimed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic that the PNP would halt Oplan Tokhang for the time being as the government adjusted to the global pandemic.
However, the government's own figures showed that "drug war" killings actually increased under the COVID-induced quarantines, when killings were harder to document.
READ: Fact check: Reported increase in 'drug war' deaths amid pandemic is backed by gov't data
Carlos in a separate radio interview Monday made a similar promise, saying "Oplan Tokhang Double Barrel" may not continue anymore.
"We might no longer see such activities. This is more on reaching out to the victims or the addicts to recover. We have a strong presence in the barangays through the [Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council]s and the police will be there. Our tasked units, [Police Drug Enforcement Group] and other [Drug Enforcement Unit]s, will be the ones to do the intelligence based on the operations against illegal drugs," he said.
"The focus of this final version is the barangay development program which will strengthen the BADACs with the presence of the police in the barangays. They will act as partners in the supervision of the force multiplier and our fellows in various communities," he said at a press briefing in Filipino.
What is Oplan Double Barrel?
The operation plan, which remains the template for many anti-drug operations by the PNP, has been suspended and relaunched numerous times under President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.
According to the first memorandum circular mentioning it, the first "barrel" of the campaign is Project Tokhang, which "involves the conduct of house to house visitations to persuade suspected illegal drug personalities to stop their illegal drug activities."
Tokhang has since become its own operation plan in Oplan Tokhang, a play on the Cebuano words “knock” and “plead." Rights advocates and families of victims point to Tokhang-style visits as the precursors to extra-judicial killings.
READ: Abuse in 'drug war' routinely covered up, advocates say
The campaign's second prong is Project HVT, "a massive and reinvigorated conduct of anti-illegal drugs operations targeting illegal drugs personalities and drug syndicates."
Official police data acknowledge over 6,100 deaths in official anti-drug operations. But rights groups both here and abroad say that the true death toll may be as high as 30,000.
That same memo establishing the framework for the Duterte administration's infamous crackdown on illegal drugs was penned by none other than Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, who has since become the target of a possible investigation by the International Criminal Court.
New chief promises continuity
In his first speech as chief of the national police, Carlos said that "the fight against insurgency, terrorism, and the dismantling of private armed groups will receive a new shot in the arm."
Just days after he made this promise, police arrested Maria Salome Crisostomo-Ujano, a 64-year-old child rights advocate in Malolos, Bulacan over a 15-year-old rebellion case.
Rights groups slammed the arrest, saying the Duterte administration "continue[s] to make this country a dangerous place for dissenters and rights defenders."
READ: Police arrest officer of anti-trafficking NGO over 2006 rebellion case
"Everything we're doing now, we've already started before...I will just focus on the task ahead [to] ensure orderly elections," Carlos also said Monday. "We don't need to reinvent the wheel if it's still working."
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