THE police, accompanied by village officials and a Seventh Day Adventist pastor, conducted its first “Oplan Tokhang 2.0” Tuesday, March 7, in Macabalan village, Cagayan de Oro City.
“So far, maayo man ang feedback. Daghan nalipay kay nibalik na ang Tokhang. Ang pastor pud nato nga giuban is member sa station advisory council (The feedback has been positive so far. Many welcomed the resumption of Tokhang and the pastor who was with us is a member of the station’s advisory council),” Police Station 5 Chief Ernesto Daing said.
Daing said they visited less than 10 houses as the pastor and village officials spent a lot of time talking with the identified drug personalities.
He said they want to ensure the village officials and the Church representative would see how the police are implementing proper procedure in the conduct of Oplan Tokhang.
The police station chief said they also arrested two drug personalities after the two were found in possession of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu.”
Daing said the arrested suspects belong to the top five drug personalities in the village and have been monitored to have become more active in the illegal drug trade after police anti-illegal drugs operations were suspended at the order of President Rodrigo Duterte.
He said the two, whom he declined to identify pending the filing of formal charges, were arrested after the suspected drugs were found after police asked to subject them to “voluntary search.”
“Gi-subject nato sila sa voluntary search atong giingan nga basin namaligya pa sila. Nag ok sila og didto nakita nato sa ilang possession (We subjected them to voluntary search after we asked them if they were selling drugs. They agreed to be searched and then we found the drugs),” Daing said.
The police chief said policemen also saw in plain view some suspected shabu in one of the suspect's rooms.
“Lantaran nato nakita sa room ang suspected drugs kay siguro na-surprise sila ug wala kapanghipos. Naa may religious sector naka witness nga wala na-violate and ilang rights (The drugs were in plain view. They probably did not expect the police. Anyway there was somebody from the religious sector who witnessed that we did not violate their rights),” Daing said.
He added the arrested drug suspects will face charges in violation of the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
The Cagayan de Oro City Police Office’s (Cocpo) Oplan Lambat-Sibat led to the arrest of 225 persons, some of whom were minors, for different violations.
Over 30 of the suspects were presented to the media at the Cocpo headquarters, Tuesday, March 7.
The police also served 23 arrest warrants.
The Oplan Lambat-Sibat is the anti-criminality strategy of the Philippine National Police which aims to fight crimes in a deliberate, programmatic, and sustained manner.