DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The National Union of People’s Lawyers and religious organizations have collaborated to launch a campaign against the government’s Oplan Tokhang.
Lawyer Krissy Conti,secretary general of NUPL-National Capital Region, said they have partnered with the church-based group Rise Up which is led by the Promotion of Church People’s Response and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines to provide holistic support for the victims of the anti-drug war.
“Initially, these are the victims in the communities of Quezon City and Caloocan,” Conti told Davao Today in an interview.
She said the church groups have provided the victims and their families with sanctuary, psychosocial services.
Conti said the NUPL would provide guidance and legal assistance to the victims.
“Also we will be coordinating with the media and the communities since Tokhang has many aspects and the public should understand what the police can or cannot do,” Conti said.
She said their aim is to “protect both the victims and victims to be.”
The Philippine National Police relaunched the Operation Plan Toktok-Hangyo or Tokhang (knock and plead) which, PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa said will be “less bloody, if not bloodless.”
Dela Rosa in an interview with reporters in Bansalan, Davao del Sur Thursday said they will make sure that scalawag cops or those involved in syndicates will not be able to abuse the Oplan Tokhang.
“Nag-iingat kami na hindi makasakay yung sindikatong pulis, yung mga scalawag,” he said.
He also said Oplan Tokhang operations now should be led by the chief of police together with the barangay captain and other barangay officials. He said they also welcome church leaders who want to participate.
Dela Rosa said they would not mind whether the ‘Tokhang’ operations will take time as long as they are coordinating the operations.
But Conti said the relaunched anti-drug campaign is tantamount to admitting that the first version was wrong and has resulted to thousands killed.
“It exposed how corrupt the system is,” she said.
She said, putting guidelines on the anti-drug war would not change the ways of corrupt police officials.
“If you have corrupt police, they will find a way to do wrong. If not intentionally, it could be unintentionally because it is already in the system,” she said. (davaotoday.com)
