(Eagle News) — The Philippine National Police said that any requests for information that they will get from international and local organizations will have to pass through proper procedure.
PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. John Bulalacao stressed this, saying that policemen will also follow what President Rodrigo Duterte had said about ignoring questions from human rights probers who are biased against the government.
“Anumang request ng international organizations, or maging local organizations ukol dito. Ay kailangang dumaaan sa proseso or so proper channels. So kung kami ay makatatanggap ng mga requests na kagaya nito ay idadaan namin ito, at hahayaan namin na ang magbigay ng approval ay yung higher ups,” Bulalacao said.
Malacanang on Saturday said that the Philippine government is ready to cooperate with human rights investigators coming from the United Nations.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque further said that government cooperation would be extended to those who have no conclusion and simply wanted to know the facts in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
“Makikipagtulungan lang po tayo doon sa mga taong wala pang konklusyon at mayroon pong katapatan na talagang mag-imbestiga para magkaroon ng konklusyon,” Roque stressed.
The President’s spokesperson added that the deaths in the current drug war were results of legitimate police operations, and if there were unlawful deaths, such as in the case of Kian de los Santos, the President would order their (police) punishment.
The PNP had reported that there were already 102 deaths related to the government’s drug war, and that more than 10,000 had already been arrested since December 5.
But it clarified that the so-called “Tokhang” Operations since it was returned on January 29 this year.
Bulalacao said that the house-to-house drive had prompted the surrender of 3,173 people.
“Up to now, Tokhang still has no recorded deaths. This is our soft effort against the use of illegal drugs,” Bulalacao said.
But the police also clarified that those drug suspects who are the subject of “tokhang” operations were those whose profiles were not hostile. Those who are considered hostile are already made the subject of police operations.
“We are not compromising also the security of those witnesses and observers na kasama natin. Kung na-profile naming yung drug personality na hndi na kakayanin ng tokhang.. parang hostile siya, hindi na natin yan, tinotokhang kundi subject for operations,” explained Police Supt. Chai Madrid, Deputy Spokesperson of the PNP.
According to the guidelines of the reloaded PNP “tokhang,” these operations will only be allowed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays only, and will be based on verified intelligence reports.
The targets of “Tokhang” are only those included in an “official list” of verified drug personalities. There shall also be a “tokhang team” that will be composed of four qualified police officers led by a deputy chief of police. They will be joined by a representative from the barangay council, human rights group or religious sector.
The operatives must also wear proper uniform during operations, are encouraged to wear body cameras, and may not enter a suspect’s house. They are also advised not to engage hostile suspects.
“Uncooperative suspects must be reported to the Police Drug Enforcement Unit for case build-up,” according to the PNP guidelines.
(with a report from Mar Gabriel, Eagle News Service)