THE local police’s Operation Tokhang did not only reach out to interior portions of Cebu City, it has also gone to the city’s port areas.
Instead of knocking on the doors of suspected persons involved in illegal drugs, the joint team from the Cebu City Police Community Relations and Police Station 3 conducted the campaign with a funeral hearse and a jingle.
According to Chief Insp. Conrado Manatad of the Police Station 3, they conducted an information drive particularly on the piers because most of the porters and laborers from the area were the ones who were often arrested during buy-busts.
“Naa ra na nila kung mo-surrender sila or dili. Madakpan sila, or during sa buy-bust madisgrasya sila (It’s up to them if they will surrender or not. They’ll get arrested, or they might get hurt during a buy-bust),” he said.
The funeral hearse drove around the route under the station’s jurisdiction in the Barangays of San Roque, Tejero, Tinago and Sto. Niño.
“During sa raid nato sa drug den, mga laborers gikan diri sa pier ang madakpan so meaning kinahanglan nato ang information drive, di lang sa dakop gud (During raids inside drug den, most of those who were arrested were laborers from the pier so we need an information drive not only operations),” he said.
This was the second day that the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) conducted Oplan Tokhang with a twist by using the anti-illegal drugs jingle and a funeral car.
Armed with their guitar and song guides, police in athletic uniforms sang to the residents of the barangays.
Two of the jingles were composed by the personnel of the PCR to remind the junkies and pushers to give up drugs.
The information drive for the Oplan Tokhang will be followed by the Oplan Pokemon wherein citizens are encouraged to tell the police of any sighting of persons who are involved in illegal drugs in their barangay.
CCPO Director Joel Doria said that Oplan Pokemon is recognizable to the people because it has a similar concept to the viral game introduced by Niantic, a game developer.