'Tokhang' vs. village officials in 'narco-list' mulled

Village officials who were included in the "narco-list" released by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) recently may be subjected to Oplan Tokhang (knock and plead) operations, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) revealed yesterday.

Speaking at the sideline of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors' Meeting in Mandaluyong City, NCRPO Director Camilo Pancratius Cascolan said the decision lies on the hands of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde.

"The directive at the national headquarters will be followed. If that will be the directive (conduct Oplan Tokhang), then we will do that," Cascolan told reporters when asked about the matter.

Ahead of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on May 14, the PDEA released last Monday a "validated" narco-list involving 207 village officials who are allegedly involved in various illegal drug activities. The Palace said it would serve as a guide for the public to determine who should they not vote in the coming elections.

The list includes 90 barangay captains and 117 barangay kagawads or councilors, where 12 of them are in the NCR.

For his part, Albayalde said the PDEA has yet to coordinate with them to determine what the next step would be after identifying the village officials in the narco-list.

"I think if they would ask help from us, I'd say get evidence and if there is sufficient [evidence], then we should file a case," Albayalde said.

Cascolan echoed Albayalde's statements, adding that it would be best for the village officilas linked in various illegal drug activities to surrender.

"If you are in the watchlist, it is better for you to surrender. If not, we will be building cases against you," Cascolan said.

Cascolan also said that it wouldn't matter whether a person was included in the list but turns out he is no longer running for an elective post in the coming elections. He said they will still be subjected to monitoring since they were included in the watchlist.

"Whether he be captain, or official, he's part of the barangay before and that would not be a problem. He will be monitored, at the same time, we will be building cases against them," he explained.

Cascolan also allayed fears of some that the narco-list will be a "hit list."

Controversies hounded the previous version of Oplan Tokhang where some of the drug suspects in the narco-list of President Duterte, including those who surrendered, ended up being killed, most of them by motorcycle-riding suspects.