MANILA, Philippines – There is no doubt in Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s mind that the so-called “war on drugs” is needed in the country. But Trillanes, a soldier-turned-mutineer-turned-legislator, warned the Philippine police against taking shortcuts in a national campaign that has killed thousands.

Trillanes, a two-term senator, reminded personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday, August 22, that although a “bloody” war against illegal drugs has the support of the President now, this might not true 6 years from now. 

“Malay natin sa susunod na makakapuwesto ang prioridad naman ay human rights at mag conduct naman ng imbestigasyon. By then, retired na kayo. At kung buksan ang mga kasong ito, nakatiwangwang ang ating pulis,” Trillanes told PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa during the first day of the Senate’s probe into the spike of drug-related deaths since President Rodrigo Duterte was swept into power during the May 2016 elections. 

(Who knows, the next president might prioritize human rights and the conduct of investigations. By then, you’ll have retired. And if cases are reopened, our police will be left hanging.) 

Dela Rosa and the PNP have been at the forefront of the administration’s intensified efforts to curb the spread and use of illegal drugs around the country. Putting a stop to crime, corruption and illegal drugs was among Duterte’s key campaign promises. 

But it’s a campaign that’s also been hit by critics for being anti-poor and for supposedly encouraging violence and vigilantism. (READ: The drug war: Safe for the poor)

Since July 1, at least 712 drug suspects have been killed in police operations around the country. More than 1,000 drug-related vigilante-style deaths, meanwhile, are still being investigated by cops. 

Trillanes added: “Kailangan proper ‘yan na operation talaga. Otherwise, sila rin ang mananagot long after yung mga commanders nila ay nag retire na. Ito yung mga nagsabi sa kanila na sagot ko, walang mangyayari sa inyo habang kami ay nakapuwesto. Yung nga lang, hindi sila habang buhay nakapuwesto.”

(The operations need to be properly done. Otherwise they’ll pay the price long after their commanders have retired. These are the commanders who tell their men that I have your back and that nothing bad will happen to them so long as they’re in power. But they aren’t in power forever.) 

Trillanes was apparently referring to the PNP’s younger officers – both commissioned and non-commission – who are at the frontlines of the “war on drugs.” 

During the hearing, two witnesses alleged that their relatives – admitted drug pushers – were killed by cops who themselves were involved in illegal drugs. The cops in one case have already been relieved while the Antipolo police in the other case will be relieved by the PNP, according to Dela Rosa. 

“Hindi tayo maliligaw kapag regular lahat ng mga operations, kung properly mag-conduct ng operations hindi tayo mapapahamak (We won’t stray if all our operations are regular, if all of our operations are conducted properly, we won’t be at risk),” added Trillanes. 

Just the poor? 

Trillanes also questioned why low-level drug personalities – those who operate on the streets and the barangay level – were being targeted by police operations while so-called “big time” personalities such as Peter Lim and Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa were able to walk away scot-free. (READ: Epicenters of fatalities in the war on drugs)

Both Lim and Espinosa were tagged as drug lords by no less than Duterte himself. 

Dela Rosa explained that the PNP had no standing warrant against Espinosa, who has since returned to work in Albuera, Leyte. But the PNP chief also admitted that low-level drug personalities in local “watch lists” did not have standing warrants against them either. 

“When you say pinanghahawakan na hard evidence, wala po kasi kung may hard evidence tayo, hindi lang watch list yan. Talagang fifile-an na natin ng kasi. Marami kasing alam na nag-o-operate diyan based on reports and intelligence na talagang sila ay involved [sa illegal drugs],” explained the police general, when pressed on whether police had cases against the hundreds of thousands who have surrendered in police operations nationwide. 

(When you ask if we have hard evidence against them, we don’t because if we did, they wouldn’t just be on the watchlist. We would file cases against them. But we know a lot about them based on reports and intelligence that they really are involved in illegal drugs.)

More than 600,000 drug users and pushers have surrendered as a result of “Oplan Tukhang,” a literal “knock and plead” police operation. 

Trillanes once served in the Philippine Navy and joined a coup attempt against former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. A 1995 graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), he is nearly a decade junior to Dela Rosa, a 1986 graduate of the PMA.

The senator, who ran for vice president in 2016, was at odds with Duterte in the past. Towards the tail-end of the campaign, Trillanes alleged that Duterte had millions stashed in secret accounts. – Rappler.com