PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement of his decision to have the Philippine National Police (PNP) temporary halt the “war” against the illegal drugs trade was not only the top news story in the Philippines but also caught the attention of the international media, and rightly so. The same war has attracted global attention because of its harshness, with more than 7,000 suspected pushers/users killed thus far.
“Philippines Leader Rodrigo Duterte Suspends ‘War on Drugs’ So He Can Hunt Down Corrupt Police Officers Instead,” reports Telegraph.co.uk. “Philippine Police Halt Deadly Drug War,” says news.com.au. “Philippines Police Chief Overhaul Force, But Rodrigo Duterte Says Drug War will Go On,” clarifies the New York times. “Philippine Police Halt Anti-Drug Operations, Move on Rogue Cops,” states Asahi Shimbun. “Philippine Anti-Drug Operations Halted,” headlines CNBC.
The news headlines summed up the story. The move was made after rogue cops used the war on drugs as pretext to extort money from Korean national Jee Ick-Joo last year, an act topped by the insult of them killing their victim inside Camp Crame, the main national police headquarters. Sen. Panfilo Lacson, during a Senate hearing, also showed footage from a CCTV of policemen “planting” evidence in an office during a supposed an anti-illegal drugs operation.
This was what I have long been saying. When the Duterte administration launched the war against the illegal drugs trade, the lack of detailed planning was obvious. The thinking seemed like it was enough to immediately go for the kill instead of, for example, assessing first the capability of the main force used in the war.
The operation consisted of the “tokhang” (“toktok” or knock and “hangyo” or request) that generated thousands of surrenderers and the killing of suspected drug pushers or users either during legitimate operation or by “vigilantes.” Some suspected police scalawags were initially marginalized when Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa became PNP chief but the purge was feeble and without any follow through. The other important cog of the war, rehabilitation of surrenderers, was largely neglected.
But as they say, better late than never. What should have been done at the beginning of the “war” is being done more than six months after it was launched. That’s unfortunate but what can the Duterte administration do now?
What has been left unsaid, or should I say what the government refused to admit, is that the suspension of the “war” is also an admission that the drive has, in some respects, failed. The Duterte administration set the bar too high: eradication of the illegal drugs trade in three months. When that didn’t happen, the President asked for another six months. Now he says the “war” will continue until the end of his term—and no mention of total eradication of the menace.
Still, we say good luck to dela Rosa in his task of purging the PNP of misfits and scalawags. In doing that, he will have to audit his personnel and make an accounting of their acts. The accounting should include not only the extortion activities but also the legitimacy of each incident of extrajudicial killing.